


Kidorui

by Shivani



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Cameos, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-16
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 54,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shivani/pseuds/Shivani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something that happened when Harry was twelve comes back to “haunt” him in his new home in Namimori, and it often says, “Lambo-san is here!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 01

**Author's Note:**

> **Pairing** : Harry/Reborn
> 
>  **Beta** : —
> 
>  **Spoilers** : Harry Potter, Katekyo Hitman Reborn
> 
>  **Warnings** : slash, extreme canon mangling, crack (but that’s kind of a given when dealing with comedic manga/anime), occasional POV shenanigans
> 
>  **Disclaimer** : This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc.; and Amano Akira, Weekly Shōnen Jump, and Viz Media. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
> 
>  **Notes** : This is the result of a random idea I had, and basically went wherever the hell it went as whim decreed and rambled all over the place, though I did actually go watch subtitled episodes over at Crunchyroll for ideas along the way, and visit the wikia.
> 
> Any actual battles will suck, even with the manga chapters as source, because fuck if I’m going to try to translate a bajillion panels into text. I rewrote the Rainbow Arc parts several times and very nearly just ripped all of it out and just put “They fought a lot, and then. . . .” so I could finish this finally.

## 01

Harry was, as was often the case, confused. Neville and Luna did not look much better in that respect. The “war” was over and Harry had prevailed in the end, and for the time being people were mostly leaving him alone. He had plenty of stalkers and fans, but they were not being quite as obnoxious as he had feared.

However, one of them had managed to figure out his schedule for visiting Diagon Alley and led one of the remaining Voldemort sympathizers straight to him. The girl and the people patronizing the alley had all fled at the first sight of the crazed man, which was just as well. Somehow, Harry managed to lift his sudden enemy with no effort and no wand, or even touching the man, and—his mind blanked out on seeing the man compress into nothingness and vanish.

He cast a bewildered look at his two friends and took off for Gringotts. Inside they pretended that nothing had happened, but they did not forget. Then started the incidents where Harry would summon things to himself wandlessly, with no incantation, just the power of his mind. At that point his two friends exchanged a long look before Neville said, “You have this. . . .”

Luna sighed faintly. “You obviously haven’t noticed it, Harry, but there’s been this odd aura around your hands when this happens, almost like flames.”

Neville nodded, looking sheepish for not just coming out and saying it.

“What? I didn’t see anything,” he protested.

Luna rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you’re looking at your hands when it happens.”

A few weeks later it happened out in public, in muggle London. Harry felt a bit panicky and went for his wand, intending to do some damage control, but Luna swiftly pushed his arm away. “Look,” she said, her free hand gesturing languidly. “None of them saw anything. It’s like the flames don’t exist to them.”

Harry took a look around and realized she was right. Nobody had noticed a thing. If anything, the bully who had suddenly tripped over thin air because his speed had abruptly changed was more embarrassed than puzzled or suspicious.

Back at the house Harry sighed and flopped into a chair. “Okay fine. Muggles can’t see them. And if it happens in front of wizards and witches? What then?”

Neville looked uncomfortable as he shrugged.

It happened again during his next trip to Diagon Alley, though he had mixed up his routine and was wearing a disguise. Not one of the many people shopping noticed a thing. They all just assumed it was someone playing about with magic. Baffled, he returned home and told his friends.

“What makes you two so different?”

Luna did the shrugging that time. “I don’t know, but it only started happening after the Horcrux was gone. Maybe you’ve always had some odd ability and the Horcrux was blocking it?”

Neville coughed quietly, drawing their attention his way. “I’ve been thinking and, well, maybe I can do it, too. But not the same thing.”

Luna’s gaze went uncharacteristically sharp. “What do you mean?”

“Um, well. . . .” Neville reached up to ruffle the hair at the back of his neck. “My plants. You know? I always thought I was imagining things. But sometimes I can see this greenish aura around my hands when I’m working with them, when they grow so much stronger and faster.”

Luna eyed him for a minute, then eyed Harry. “And you seem to be having some effect on gravity.”

“Gravity?” ‘What the hell is she talking about?’

She rolled her eyes again. “Okay. Think about it this way. Gravity is what keeps us on the planet. It pulls down, pulls us down. Things like levitation charms, impediment jinxes—spells like that could be said to be affecting gravity, either to increase or decrease it. You’ve been summoning things without any spells, against gravity, altering gravity. The same when you compressed that stupid sympathizer. I conjecture that you increased the effects of gravity around him from all sides, compressing him into such a small mass that he effectively became nothing but a super-heavy piece of dust.”

“And that punk I tripped?”

“Same concept. You increased gravity for him only, which slowed him down like an impediment jinx would. The change in speed is what tripped him. It’s like . . . learning how to floo, almost, in a way.”

Now that he could understand. The sheer number of times he had tripped or fallen coming out of the floo because his perceived speed was not his real speed. . . . “Okay. But what about you?”

“I don’t know, but I obviously have some power or else I couldn’t see the flames. For now I suggest we do some work, so let’s go to the greenhouse.”

She asked Neville to try to consciously accelerate the growth of one of the rarer plants there. If it ended badly there were more, so the loss of one plant would only be unfortunate. Harry saw what they were talking about for the first time as the plant Neville was cooing at suddenly grew on fast-forward and his hands were enveloped with a green light, almost like flames.

“Oh, wow,” he whispered.

“Neville, keep practicing. Maybe you can use this ability to help some of the plants you brought in recently that haven’t adjusted so well yet,” Luna suggested. “And as for you, Harry, let’s go outside and you can practice with something soft.”

Apparently, that meant letting Luna transfigure rocks into soft little balls of yarn and then telling him—ordering, more like—to try to alter the gravity around them. Unfortunately, that really did not make a whole lot of sense to him, so she tried explaining it a different way.

“Okay. Think of gravity like a net.”

He stared at her in confusion.

“Normal gravity is like an invisible net overhead and it pushes us down and keeps us down. When you jump you can only stretch it so far before it pushes back, like rubber.”

He nodded.

“So, imagine that the net can be above, below, or to the sides of one of those balls. If you can manipulate gravity you should be able to increase or decrease pressure from any side.”

That, at least, was easier for his mind to work with. A half hour later he found he could easily move one of the yarn balls around. Then Luna suggested he try two at a time and, if possible, not moving in sync. It was a dismal failure, but she just smiled and said he could work on that later.

She picked up one of the balls and started tossing it up and down. “Try to stop it.”

After that she stood to one side with a basket of yarn balls and began tossing them a distance away. “Try to stop them. Or speed them up. Whichever. Both.”

“You realize what this means, of course,” Harry said a week later.

Neville muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, “Constant vigilance.”

“Yes,” Luna replied. “The ignorant masses will eventually pay attention. And even if they can’t see the flames they’ll start pointing fingers.”

“And then you’ll be labeled the next dark lord,” Neville said, “and we’re your top lieutenants, of course, and we’ll either be jailed or killed.”

Harry nodded, glad to see that his friends were on the same wavelength. Luna, as it turned out, had skill with illusions, and while it could be a very powerful ability, none of them were in any way certain she could “blind” or divert people in a desperate situation, should it come to that.

“I have just the place!” Luna exclaimed happily.

“Eh?” Harry’s confusion was echoed by Neville.

“Oh, I did the usual,” she said, nodding. “World map, darts, you know. I found a darling little town in Japan.”

“We don’t know how to speak Japanese,” Neville pointed out.

Luna waved her hand dismissively. “Magic! There are ways, you know. You just need to know who to talk to. I’ll go get that taken care of!” And off she went, leaving behind two confused young men.

When she returned it was with a large box. Inside were a multitude of potion and memory vials. “It’s simple. We each take a vial for the language we want, then we enter the corresponding memory. By the time we come out we’ll know the language.”

“Why so many vials, then?” Neville asked, eyeing the box warily.

“Because if we’re going to do this we may as well learn more than just Japanese. I got German, French, Italian, and Spanish to round things out. Odds are, no matter where we travel along the way, we’ll be able to speak the language or one close enough to get by.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t throw Russian in there,” Harry muttered, causing Luna to look thoughtful. “But that’s fine,” he said hastily. “Er, any side effects?”

“Of course,” she said cheerily. “No more than one language per week, and we can expect to have splitting headaches for several days each time. We’re going to be at this for a while, so we’ll have to do research about buying a property over there, and decide on what we want to do once we get there.”

Because Harry could cook so well they decided on a little bakery of sorts. He didn’t mind so much because it would not be cooking anything for the people he was unfortunately related to. Luna went into raptures over the idea of doing the decorating and Harry and Neville just shared an amused look and a helpless shrug. Luna went so far as to sketch out a bunch of ideas and design a logo for the shop, and even come up with a name for it: Kidorui.

Neville snorted at the name, but went with her to gather up a ton of supplies. Harry packed up their home while they did that, and then they all went to Gringotts to arrange for passports and other paperwork. The bakery had already been purchased, as well as a home, and they went off to Japan in excitement.

Luna spent an inordinate amount of time decorating, and created a magnificent tree mosaic on the floor of the shop, even extending the design up onto the walls with paint. The end result was gorgeous. “You’ve outdone yourself,” he told her, looking around in wonder, then continued in a much softer voice, “I wonder if your talent at art has anything to do with your illusions.”

She smiled at him. “Perhaps. It’s not a bad thought. Now get to work on finalizing the menu! I can’t create that until you’ve decided on the things you want to bake.”

Neville busied himself with figuring out how to run the register. He was surprisingly good with maths, but it might look strange to any customers if Neville was doing calculations in his head.

Eventually they were ready to open. A few discreet fliers had been placed around Namimori to attract some attention, though there had already been plenty of curious people wandering by as they got the shop ready. Harry started early opening day to make pastries and other sweets from various parts of the world, and Luna and Neville got the cases ready.

A week later they were doing well. Harry had adopted a policy that any first-time customer got part or all of their first order for free, as a welcome. One of the more interesting changes of having the Horcrux removed was that his memory had improved to the point of being magical. Luna called it eidetic, whatever that meant, but Harry just knew he never forgot anything anymore, including faces.

He was on his way to the shop, having taken a break for a walk after having gotten the morning goods ready, when his leg buckled from an impact. The next thing he knew there was a tiny little child sitting on the pavement, bawling its eyes out. The child—boy?—was wearing a cow onesie, of all things, had an afro-like hairstyle mostly consisting of knotted hair, and a set of bull horns.

Harry looked around in confusion, then crouched down to gently pick the child up and cuddle him close, which made the crying stop. “What are you doing with Lambo-san?” the child warbled demandingly.

“Are you all right?” he asked quietly. “You hit me pretty hard.”

“Lambo-san is fine!” the child said, wriggling around.

“Uh huh. How about you come with me to the bakery and I’ll check.”

The wriggling stopped and the child looked at him directly. Harry’s breath caught on seeing the child’s green eyes, so like his own. “Lambo-san can have a snack?”

“Sure,” he said.

“Lambo-san will come with you!”

Harry chuckled and shook his head in bemusement. He had known some people in Japan spoke in the third person, but to see such a young child speak that way—it was freakin’ adorable. “All right. Let’s go to the bakery.”

Lambo settled down for the walk and started chattering at him without stop, but went silent momentarily when the bakery came into view. “Lambo-san didn’t know this was here.”

“Well, we only opened a week ago. I’m Hari, by the way. My siblings and I own the place. Let’s get you inside so I can make sure you’re all right, and get you a snack.”

“Lambo-san is in agreement!”

Luna took one look at them coming through the door and smiled serenely, but Harry could see the laughter in her eyes. Neville snorted quietly as they approached and said, “I see you found a stray.”

“Lambo-san is not a stray! Lambo-san is a skilled hitman!”

Harry held on a little tighter to account for the outraged wriggling and said, “What kind of snack would you like, Lambo-kun?”

“Can Lambo-san have all of it?” the boy asked, eyes wide and greedy.

“Ano, no. It’s called a snack for a reason,” he said firmly. Lambo looked like he was either going to erupt or cry, so Harry continued, “What kinds of sweets do you like?”

The child looked at him and paused, then reached up a tiny hand to pat the skin next to Harry’s eye. “Hari-san has eyes like Lambo-san.”

“Yes, I had noticed that. How about some carrot cake? It’s sweet, but has healthy things in it.”

Lambo eyed the display cases. “Does Hari-san have anything with grape?”

“We have some tarts with berries and grape jelly,” he said. “How about some of those?”

“O~kay!” Lambo warbled.

Harry nodded at Neville and smiled, then hauled the boy off to one of the free tables. Lambo did not like the idea of being separated from his benefactor, his supplier of free sweets, so Harry kept the boy on his lap. Luna came over a minute later with a small plate holding three tarts and set it down, then took a seat herself.

“So, who is this adorable little man?” she asked.

The boy paused in grabbing the first tart. “Lambo-san is handsome!” he said, then picked up a tart and snarfed it down in a second and reached for the next one.

Harry grabbed the boy’s arm. “Lambo-kun, please eat more slowly. I don’t like it when I make food and people don’t take the time to enjoy it.”

Green eyes clashed and Lambo got an “I’m going to cry” look on his face, but then he nodded and when Harry released his arm, took the second tart and ate it slowly, chewing properly.

“Much better,” he praised. To Luna he said, “Lambo-kun ran into me on my walk, literally. I wanted to make sure he’s not hurt, but he doesn’t seem to be.”

“Lambo-san is fine,” Lambo insisted, grinning at Harry. He had berry juice stains and a bit of grape jelly smeared around his mouth.

He grabbed a napkin from the holder and dipped it into a glass of water that had handily “appeared”, and set about cleaning the boy’s face. “Did you like the tarts?”

“Lambo-san liked them very much.”

“So you like grapes, hm?”

Lambo nodded and eyed the cases again. Luna giggled.

“Well, how about I take you back to your family?” he suggested, thinking that surely there was a mother out there worried about her tiny little child being off heaven knew where.

Lambo got that look again, but instead of it passing by, the child burst into tears again, making Harry panic slightly and cuddle the boy. He gave Luna a “what the hell?” look.

“Lambo-san is an orphan,” came a muffled voice from his chest. “Lambo-san came to Namimori to assassinate the man who killed his father.”

Harry exchanged a look with Luna over the boy’s head. “You don’t have anywhere to stay?” he asked gently.

Lambo shook his head, making the points of his horns tap against Harry’s chest.

“You came to Namimori,” Luna said. “How?”

Lambo sat up properly and sniffled. “Lambo-san was clever and stowed away on a plane! And then he went after the man. But the branch he was perched on in the tree outside broke when Lambo-san was trying to kill the man, so he rang the doorbell and sneaked inside, and upstairs, and then tried again, but the man tripped Lambo-san! When Lambo-san threw a grenade the man hit it back and Lambo-san flew out the window and exploded. Lambo-san was looking for the man when he ran into Hari-san.” He nodded, as if to say he remembered it all correctly.

Harry felt like his brain was melting at the explanation. “I see. How old are you, Lambo-kun?”

Lambo beamed. “Lambo-san is five!”

Harry grimaced. The boy was tiny! Luna gave him a knowing look, and Neville was eyeing him with amusement from the counter. “Would you like to stay with us?” he offered. Perhaps he could get more information from the child, enough to figure out where he came from and decide what to do.

Lambo looked thoughtful—and suspicious, and hopeful. “Ano. . . . Hari-san looks a lot like what Lambo-san imagined his daddy would look like.”

‘What a lovely non-answer,’ he thought. “Okay. How about we go get you some colouring books and you can visit with us today.”

Lambo beamed and nodded.

“I’ll be out for a bit, then,” he told Luna, keeping a careful hold on the boy as he got up. “Let’s go to the shops, Lambo-kun.”

The boy chattered incessantly the entire time, excitedly pointing at things he would like, though Harry limited his purchases to a dozen colouring books and a massive box of crayons. He set the boy up at a free table at Kidorui and made sure he had something to drink, then went back to baking, knowing that Luna and Neville would keep an eye on him.

They were just getting ready to close up when they realized Lambo was nowhere to be seen. The three of them searched the shop and found no sign of him. “Damn,” Harry said. “Well, I guess we can look on the way home. He knows where we are during the day, so. . . .”

“What was he talking about?” Neville asked as they walked home. “A hitman? Here to assassinate someone? The kid’s wearing a cow onesie, for Merlin’s sake. Where is he storing these alleged grenades?”

“I am utterly confused,” Harry admitted.

“And you suspect he’s been abused,” Luna said.

Harry snorted. “Of course. No child should be that tiny at that age.”

The next day Harry had just finished the morning baking and was out on his walk again when something attached itself firmly to his leg from behind.

“Hari~san! Lambo-san is here!”

He felt a lot like giggling, actually, as he carefully reached back and grabbed the kid, bringing him around so Lambo could rest comfortably in his arms. “And where did you disappear to yesterday? We were worried. Where did you sleep? Did you even have dinner?”

Lambo aimed wide eyes at him. “Hari-san was worried about Lambo-san?”

“Yes,” he said with a nod.

“Lambo-san spent the night at Dame-Tsuna’s house. Mama said it was okay.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “Who?”

Lambo pointed down a side street. “Go that way!”

A short time later, after following the imperious commands of a tiny cow general, Harry arrived at a normal enough house. The name plate affixed to the wall above the letter box read: Sawada.

“Here! Hari-san should ring the doorbell.”

He let out a breath and opened the gate enough to get through, closed it behind him, and approached the door. He pushed the doorbell and heard a pleasant jingling sound coming from inside. Thirty seconds later the door opened to reveal a woman with brown eyes and hair, whose expression went from polite to smiling when she saw Lambo.

“There you are, Lambo-kun. I suppose you ran off because Tsuna-kun is in school.” Then she looked at Harry.

“Ano, I’m Mori Hari. I was concerned because Lambo-kun disappeared on me yesterday.”

“Sawada Nana, but you can call me Mama. Everyone does. Would you like to come in?”

“Ano. . . .”

“Hari-san goes in!” Lambo warbled.

“Okay,” he said, wondering why he was letting himself be bossed around by a boy. “Thank you,” he said to Nana.

The result of the visit was that Nana had no real clue who Lambo was, but she had assumed he must be some kind of a friend of her son’s. That being the case she had stuffed him full of food the night previous and let him sleep in her son’s room.

Lambo got bored and said, “Lambo-san wants to colour again.”

Harry shot an amused look at the boy. “You left the books and crayons at the bakery, so if you want to colour we’ll have to return there. And besides, I have work to do, so I should be getting back anyway.”

“Bakery?” Nana asked.

He nodded. “My siblings and I own and run Kidorui. We opened just last week. If you stop by the first order is free, as a welcome gift.”

“Oh my,” she said. “That sounds lovely.”

Lambo started wriggling madly so Harry made his excuses and left, taking the boy back to Kidorui and getting him set up with his supplies, a drink, and some of those tarts he liked. “Remember now, if you want to stay with us it’s fine.”

Lambo eyed him with wide green eyes and nodded, then busied himself with his colouring.

A little bit after lunch Nana showed up and looked around with wonder at the mosaic on the floor and the paintwork on the walls, then approached the counter. “My, what lovely things you have for sale. Is Mori-san in?”

Harry appeared from the back and smiled at her. “It’s fine if you call me Hari. This is Kuma,” he said, gesturing at Neville, “and our sister Tsuki is around somewhere.”

Nana nodded a greeting to Neville and said quietly, “I see Lambo-kun is very busy.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “He seems to settle down when he has something fun to keep him occupied.”

“Well,” she said normally, “I would very much like to try some of your delicious looking sweets. They’re not all from Japan?”

Neville shook his head. “Hari likes to provide a much wider selection. How about a sampler?”

“All right,” she said agreeably.

Neville got busy putting together a sampler for her and Harry brought a snack over to Lambo, along with a fresh drink. How the boy managed using the bathroom while wearing a onesie was not something he particularly wanted to know, but the boy did know where it was.

Lambo came home with them that night and squealed in delight over the room they showed him. Luna had done up the walls in a cow print and the covers for the futon were a green that matched the child’s eyes. There were toys and a kotatsu and plenty of space for Lambo’s clothing—Luna had produced a number of cow onesies for the boy since he seemed to like them so much—not to mention a bathroom of his own. ‘After all,’ Harry thought, ‘why have all that money and magic and not use it to have a comfortable home?’

None of the preparations stopped Harry from waking up in the middle of the night to realize he had a guest with him. Lambo had sneaked into his room to use him as a pillow. And, as loud and obnoxious as the child could be, Harry knew he was quickly becoming fond of the little guy.

Business started to come in from the nearest middle school, with students stopping by on their way home or to other activities, and Nana stopped by every other day, but the truly odd thing was when a very small person wearing a police officer’s uniform strutted in and started mumbling about health codes.

Harry and his blood-bonded siblings exchanged a look of patent disbelief before eyeing the little man again. He looked no older than Lambo, actually, and certainly was not any bigger, and spoke with a childish voice. “Does he seriously expect us to believe this?” Harry asked in English.

The chibi officer looked at him sharply.

“He’s adorable,” Luna said in Russian. She got a sharp look, too.

“You look like a coffee sort of guy,” Neville said in Japanese. “How about some espresso cupcakes for your first visit?”

The chibi’s eyes gleamed. “Yes.”

Harry sighed and said, “First order is free, as a welcome.” He went over to check on Lambo and give his opinion on the boy’s efforts and choice of colours. Lambo had something of an obsession with the colour green, but he was happy to use all the colours of the rainbow. “You can have a snack in a little bit, Lambo-kun.”

“Hai!”

Harry eyed the cases before heading into the back. There were a few things he could quickly make to round out the display. The chibi was enjoying his espresso cupcakes very much, as Harry could see through the one-way wall, but he was also eyeing the place up, and his siblings, with a potentially worrying interest.

He shrugged and went back to working, unthinkingly using his powers to fetch things without having to move around too much. Luna had placed a clever illusion on the doorway to the baking area so he wasn’t much concerned, in any case. He had no idea the chibi was not fooled by the illusion or that his actions were being watched intently. A squeal broke him out of his routine and he turned to see Lambo tumbling into the room.

“Lambo-san wants a snack!”

He sighed and brushed his hands off, then picked the boy up. “You know you shouldn’t come back here, Lambo-kun.”

“Lambo-san is sorry?”

Harry saw the wide, innocent green eyes and rolled his own. “That look doesn’t work on me.” He went over to one of the refrigerators and opened it, pulling out a bowl of seedless red grapes, then closed it with a bump from his hip and returned to the main room. Lambo was parked at his colouring table and the bowl set down. “If you had waited just a few more minutes I’d have been done and brought this out anyway. You need to learn some patience,” he scolded gently. “Now remember, eat slowly. I know how much you like these, but you’ll enjoy them more if you take your time.”

“O~kay!”

He sighed and got back to work, not noticing that the chibi had slipped away.

That afternoon a silver-haired teen strutted into the bakery along with a boy who looked a lot like Nana-san, just a bit more masculine. Chaos erupted when the silver-haired teen spotted Lambo, and Harry rushed out to put a stop to it. He pretended not to see the bright pink grenades Lambo had produced from his hair.

He snatched Lambo up securely and said to the silver-haired teen, “Either you settle down and act like a respectful customer or you leave.”

The teen started to argue, but the brunet flailed his arms around, eyes wide with panic, and said, “Go-Gokudera-kun, stop, please.”

“Tch,” said Gokudera with a sneer. “Aho-ushi shouldn’t be here.”

“Excuse me?” Harry said. “He has every right to be here.”

“Lambo-san wins! Kufufufu.”

Harry eyed his charge. “That laugh is just weird.” To Gokudera he said, “And I won’t have you using such crass names in my shop. Dredge up some maturity or get out.”

The brunet grabbed onto his friend’s arm and started babbling at him. Gokudera eyed the situation unhappily and backed down. “I didn’t want anything from here anyway. We should go, jūdaime.” 

“N-no. Kaa-san says this place is great. It’s what she’s been bringing home all week.”

“What!? This place?”

Harry sighed and got Lambo settled again, letting the two teens work things out between themselves. “How about you get back to your colouring?” he suggested. “And later on we can go home and have a nice big dinner.”

“O~kay!”

Harry gave Lambo a kiss on the cheek and retreated to the back room.

Lambo tumbled into the house, bawling his eyes out. Luna snatched him up and tried to comfort him, to no avail. Harry came out of the kitchen and took the boy, who immediately latched onto him with more strength than should have been possible. “What’s wrong?” he asked worriedly.

Lambo stopped crying for as long as it took to pull some papers out of his hair and thrust them out. Harry took them and handed them to Luna.

A few minutes later she said, “Ano, Hari, this is—this is bizarre. These papers say that you’re Lambo-kun’s father.”

“What?” Neville said. “How the hell is that possible? Lambo is five and Harry’s only eighteen. He’d have to have been thirteen when Lambo was born.”

Luna nodded.

Harry took that in and set it aside for the moment. “Are you unhappy that your father is alive, Lambo-kun?”

“No!” Lambo warbled. “Lambo-san was told that Reborn killed you! They lied to Lambo-san!”

“So, you’re happy?”

“Lambo-san is so happy he can’t stop crying.”

“Okay, then. Let’s go sit down and cuddle.” It was only after Lambo had worn himself out and fallen asleep that he shot a questioning look at his friends.

“Someone managed to get blood from the two of you,” Neville said, “and run some tests. You’re Lambo’s father.”

“You said it yourself,” he protested quietly. “I’d have been thirteen when he was born. How it that possible?”

“Do you remember anything, er, odd,” Luna asked, “back when you were twelve?”

“Twelve? Why twelve?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “I realize your brain is muddled right now, but please try to think, Hari. It takes nine months for a child to be born, and if you were thirteen, he had to have been conceived nearly a year earlier. So, twelve.”

He cast his thoughts back to earlier years and almost immediately started blushing.

“Hari?” Luna asked.

“Er, well, yes. I remember, that summer before second year, I kept having really vivid dreams.”

Luna grinned like a cat. “Oh? I think I can see how part of this happened. Do you think, perhaps, that someone who can do illusions like I can was involved?”

“Maybe, but why?”

“This says that Lambo’s legal name is Lambo Bovino, a member of the Bovino Famiglia. Mafia?”

“He did say he was a hitman,” Luna pointed out.

“At five years old?” Harry hissed. “What the fuck is wrong with these people?”

“This doesn’t say anything about his mother, though, but I have to assume she was part of that family,” Neville added.

“It certainly explains the cow onesie,” Luna said with a giggle. “And the horns. Don’t worry, Hari. I’ll find out what happened.”

He gave her a worried look anyway.

Thankfully it was the weekend, so when Lambo woke up he was ready to talk, though not ready to let go of his newfound father. Neville was off working on a potion that would give them Lambo’s family tree. Some muggles might have done their tests, but the siblings wanted something from the magical side of things.

The potion confirmed it; Harry was Lambo’s biological father. His mother was Edvige Bovino, which caused Neville to crack up laughing and Harry to scowl. As soon as they had the results Luna packed for a trip and took off.

Things settled down again, though Lambo was especially clingy. He also stopped talking about assassinating that Reborn person. Try as he might, Harry could not figure out how his son managed to hide an entire store’s worth of goods in his hair. The weight alone should have snapped his tiny neck. And on that thought, he took Lambo off to the bathroom for his nightly bath and set about the horrible task of combing out that mess.

All manner of things were revealed and piled up as Harry patiently combed through the snarl his son called hair. His son? He had a son? His brain melted a little and he pushed his confusion aside, not even bothering to wonder why Lambo wasn’t kicking up a major fuss or bawling his eyes out.

Lambo was even more adorable than usual with much neater hair, and happily went to bed after Harry made sure the boy flossed and brushed—another fight that did not happen, actually. Lambo had bragged that he never brushed, but Harry wasn’t having any of that. Part way through the night Harry had acquired his portable heater again with Lambo using him as a pillow.

And in the morning, all the things he had removed from Lambo’s hair were missing and the boy’s “hairstyle” was back to completely messed up and afro-like. He sighed heavily and stared up at the ceiling.

On the way to Kidorui on Monday they saw Tsuna being chased by someone bundled up in a pastel nightmare of field hockey gear, and wisely ignored it. He ignored a lot of things that were happening recently. Part of it was not knowing intimately what Namimori was supposed to be like and part of it was simply weariness. A new town in a new country after running from the expected backlash—so long as it did not look like backward wizards from the UK chasing around after him he was content for the moment not to get too nosy.

Lambo was holding onto Harry’s hand, and Neville’s, and they swung the boy between him as they walked, chuckling at the squeals of joy. It was really much too early for Lambo to be awake, but as soon as Harry had started to get up the boy had woken and insisted on coming with him. So, with Luna away, Neville came in early to keep an eye on the child.

Lambo went back to sleep on one of the padded benches that had a direct line of sight into the back room and Neville sat nearby to read while Harry got things ready for opening. The shop had not been open for long when the chibi returned, this time wearing the uniform of a doctor.

“Again?” Harry said. He had come out the second he noticed the chibi. “Look, little man, I have no idea who you really are, but these costumes aren’t fooling anyone.”

Chibi did an obvious pan around the bakery, then looked back at Harry. “Oh?”

Harry frowned and did a pan of his own; the chibi was not attracting any particular attention, certainly not from cooing females going on about how adorable he was. “Are they blind?” he muttered.

“No,” Chibi said. “They just see what they expect to see. I am Reborn. I am here to—”

“Hang on,” Harry said, pointing a finger accusingly. “You’re the one Lambo said he kept trying to kill.” He looked around again and saw his son at his usual table, drawing.

Chibi frowned at being interrupted. “I am here to discuss your son.”

Harry took a seat at Reborn’s table and nodded his thanks to Neville, who showed up long enough to deposit drinks and a snack. “You’re the one who did the tests? Is that why you’re cosplaying a doctor this time? Who the hell are you?”

“I noticed the striking resemblance between you two and investigated. Are you going to take custody?”

Harry gave him a sharp look as he sipped his juice. “He’s my son, of course I will. I have no idea how it happened, but that’s irrelevant.” He paused for a split second. “Is that even possible when I’m not considered an adult in this country?”

“Lambo is from Italy. The age there is the same as yours: eighteen. I can smooth the way.”

From the expression on the chibi’s face Harry had to wonder if he would be pleased to get Lambo out of his hair, and no longer trying to assassinate him. “How?” he asked plainly.

“How did you even know he was your son?”

He growled at the redirect. “Because Lambo came home crying his eyes out with some paperwork he found. At the Sawada home, apparently.”

“Ah, so you know his background.”

“Enough, yes. Though who the fuck is insane enough to create a five year old assassin, even in the mafia. . . .”

Reborn nodded. “The mafia can do much, and I am the world’s greatest hitman.”

Harry sighed. “What you’re saying is you have connections everywhere and a lot of power.”

Chibi nodded again.

“And you’re happy with the idea of a minor inconvenience to you being occupied elsewhere.”

Reborn gave him an innocent smile.

A week later he had the paperwork in his hands; he had legal custody of his son. Lambo was beyond happy at the news, at this evidence that his father wanted him. If nothing else it made things both easier and harder. Now he had more reason than just caring for an orphan to lay down the law, and more reason for the boy to pay attention. It was harder because Luna had not yet returned and he was worried, and because now he had someone he was obligated to care for, not that caring was in any way difficult.

“Do you think I should try to set him up in a school?” he asked Neville.

“Ano, he was trained as an assassin,” Neville said. “He cries at the drop of a hat, attacks people with grenades. . . .”

“Yeah, I see where you’re going with that. I guess I can work with him after we close, continue to keep him occupied at the shop. Maybe if we get to the point where we know he won’t explode on people at the first sign of distress. . . .”

Lambo tumbled in from his nap and latched onto Harry. “Oto~san!” he warbled happily. “Lambo-san had a good nap!”

“I’m glad,” he said sincerely, then sighed. “How did you get your hair like that again?”

Lambo shrugged and cuddled up, then gasped and hopped away. The boy was surprisingly acrobatic. “Lambo-san never showed you his most precious!”

“Eh?”

Lambo pulled a huge purple bazooka out of his hair—

‘How in the hell?’ he wondered, exchanging a look with Neville.

—and set it down, then hopped inside. As Harry jumped up in alarm it exploded in a cloud of purple smoke. Then he heard, “Yare yare.” Out of the smoke walked a young man with black hair and startling green eyes. “Otosan. Kuma-oji.”

“Lambo?” Neville asked disbelievingly.

The teen nodded, then grinned and latched onto Harry, just like his little Lambo did. “Seems my younger self wanted to show off. I vaguely remembered that he would, so I prepared.” Even though Lambo’s hair was stylishly messy, he could still manage to keep things in it, for he pulled out a sheaf of paper and handed it to Neville. “That will help. The effects of the Ten Year Bazooka only last for five minutes, after all.”

Neville took the papers and immediately started reading. Harry was left to contemplate his strangely older son. “You grew up handsome,” he said inanely.

Lambo smiled lazily. “And you finally convinced me to comb my hair.”

Harry laughed.

“I know about your magic,” Lambo said. “I also know about your Dying Will Flames. It’s—” And then, with another poof of smoke, his five year old son was back, beaming at him proudly.

“That was amazing, Lambo,” he finally said, wondering how in the hell the bazooka had gotten back into his son’s hair—for he was sure that was where it was—without anyone seeing it happen. Was his son magical, too? “What the hell are Dying Will Flames?” he muttered, fussing over the boy to make sure he was all right, though he suspected checking was pointless.

“Ano, what we do,” Neville said, looking up from the papers. “Those weird abilities? Apparently there are two sets. Dying Will Flames of the Sky, and of the Earth. You’re an Earth, with a secondary in Forest. I’m Forest with a secondary in Mountain. Luna is Desert and Swamp.”

“And Sky?”

“Sky is a little different, according to these,” Neville said, glancing back down briefly. “But for Earth, well. Earth is gravity manipulation, just as Luna conjectured. Forest is plant manipulation.”

Harry snorted. “Go figure.”

Neville grinned at him. “Mountain deals with soil, rocks, and sand. For Luna, Desert is illusion, and Swamp deals with the fermentation of organic material. She can decay things at an incredible rate, essentially.”

Harry started laughing. “I wonder how well she’d do with brewing alcohol.”

“Lambo-san wants a snack!” Lambo said, tugging on Harry’s shirt sleeve.

Harry hefted the child up and carried him off to the kitchen to secure some grapes for his little man. He might be giving in a little too often to his son’s imperious demands, but he’d be damned if he allowed the boy to stuff himself the way Dudley had, with every imaginable kind of junk food on the planet.

While Lambo was enjoying his grapes, Neville was going over the papers with him. Sawada Tsunayoshi was a Sky, which boiled down to harmonization. He would end up with six guardians minimum, one each of Rain, Storm, Cloud, Mist, Sun, and Lightning. Of those, they were already familiar with his Storm Guardian, Gokudera Hayato.

“So Reborn is Tsuna-kun’s tutor? Sent by—?”

Neville shook his head. “Apparently there’s this thing in the mafia called Omerta. A vow of silence, kind of like the Statute of Secrecy.” Neville glanced at Lambo before saying, “He’s obviously familiar with Omerta, so he only wrote down what he could afford to say without invoking it.”

Harry frowned. “Well, technically, he’s part of a famiglia. I really don’t like this. He’s only five.”

“Well, apparently he has Dying Will Flames of Lightning.”

Harry eyed the horns on his son’s head. “So he’s part of the Sky set.”

“Yup. I suppose we could figure out how to train him. I mean, he’s—”

“Lambo-san doesn’t need training!” Lambo objected, chasing down the last grape.

He eyed the ceiling and sighed. “And just how many times have you fallen out of trees? Or blown yourself up?”

Lambo got that look again. But before he could decide to cry or not, a voice came from behind them.

“Training is essential,” Luna said. “You need training to be precise and efficient and skilled.”

Lambo did not look convinced, but neither did he look ready to cry, either.

“It’s true,” she said, taking a seat. “Do you think your daddy got so good at cooking for no reason? He practiced, a lot. He spent a lot of time and effort to get as good as he is.”

“There is something very weird about this conversation,” Harry muttered. Forget that he had been forced to learn how to cook—Luna had a very good point and seemed to be getting through to Lambo.

“Part of that is learning how to read and write,” she continued.

Lambo gaped in horror.

Luna nodded firmly. “Yes, reading and writing. Don’t you want to be able to make pretty cards for your daddy? To be able to write down things like ‘Love, Lambo’ on them?”

Lambo got a thoughtful look on his face as Harry sent a look of gratitude at his sister, not to mention a questioning one.

She shook her head slightly; it would have to wait for later. “Tell you what,” she said. “Your daddy and Kuma don’t need me all the time at the shop, so I can teach you. How about that?”

Lambo nodded happily.

‘Maybe it was the idea of going to school that was upsetting him?’ Harry wondered.

The rest of the day passed peacefully enough and when Lambo was finally asleep—though he knew that not long after he retired himself he would have a portable heater on his chest—Luna was finally able to report.

“I am so glad you’re okay,” he said, giving her a hug.

“I told you not to worry,” she said after she was released.

“Yeah, well, I won’t apologize,” he shot back, retaking his seat. “So what did you find out?”

“Way back, when you were still a child, agents of the Bovino family witnessed some of your more colourful bouts of accidental magic. They informed their boss and he had his people keep an eye on you over the years. They thought you had some special power and were looking to capitalize on it.” She paused when he groaned and then continued, “When you were twelve, and therefore old enough, they sent in an illusionist to provide you with ‘dreams’.”

Harry slumped over and buried his face in the arm of his chair in embarrassment.

“Yes,” Luna said knowingly. “With those they were able to collect . . . samples. Those were later used on a more or less willing female of the family and they impregnated her. They were hoping to get a child with your abilities. The mother died in childbirth. The Bovino Famiglia is fairly weak, but they have good technology.”

Neville snorted and told her about the Ten Year Bazooka.

“I missed it?” she said unhappily. “Damn. Anyway, when Lambo wasn’t showing any of the abilities you had, they considered him a failure and told him that Reborn had killed his father. And you know what happened after that.”

“So they just washed their hands of him, let a five year old boy smuggle himself onto a plane from Italy to Japan, and sent him off to get himself killed,” Harry said scathingly. “Did you do anything to any of them?”

Luna shook her head. “I wasn’t sure what rules there might be. Sure, I fooled a bunch of them and poked around in all their secret documents, maybe appropriated some things, but I didn’t hurt or kill any of them.”

He felt torn. Part of him wanted to march on over there and tear the lot of them apart. They had given him a wonderful little son, true, but they had manipulated him like some toy and stolen from him. His embarrassment went bone deep. They had—ugh. He remembered, all right, those “dreams”. They had started out with girls, and when that had produced no particular results, had moved on to boys.

It was how he knew he was gay, actually, and why he had more or less ignored every last girl vying for his attention. He knew what they wanted, and it wasn’t love, really. They wanted his fame and his money, the thrill of being the one to bag the hero and lord it over friends and enemies alike. There was a reason Luna was the only girl he could stand spending time with.

“I have no idea about rules, really,” he replied. “Much as I’d like to see them all suffer—the ones involved, anyway—it’s not the kind of thing you tend to do in cold blood.”

“Not unless you’re an assassin,” Neville said.

Harry rolled his eyes in frustration. “Yeah, not ready to even contemplate that. I suppose I could ask Reborn, but—”

“He is more than a little creepy,” Neville said.

“He’s adorable,” Luna cooed. “I’ll ask if you want. If he’s any good at all he should have some idea if we have any avenue for redress of wrongs committed.”

“I guess,” he said slowly.

“Great!” she chirped.

If he didn’t know better he would swear his sister was infatuated with the chibi.

“I’ll take Lambo over to the Sawada house in the morning for a visit,” she said.

He rather wished he could go along with her, but there was work to be done. Now if only he could convince Lambo not to wear cow onesies all the time. Then he remembered the fifteen year old version of his son and smiled. He had advanced to cow-print shirts at some point, so he considered it a win along with the hair issue.

Luna and Lambo showed up in time for his break, so he walked with them back to the house, with Lambo chattering away excitedly about his new “friend” I-Pin. She had decided he was a “broccoli monster” and they had lots of fun chasing each other around.

Luna was doing her best not to outright laugh and mouthed, “Later.”

Nana-san showed up after noon, looking to buy another round of sweets for all the people she was feeding.

“I hear that Lambo made a new friend?” he asked her, having come out on seeing her enter.

“Oh yes,” she said cheerfully. “Little I-Pin-chan is a darling, but dreadfully nearsighted, I’m afraid. She took one look at his hair and decided he was a broccoli monster.” Nana looked around quickly and then leaned in to confide, “I-Pin-chan does not like broccoli.”

Harry snickered in amusement. “You seem to have quite a crew over there.”

“Oh, it’s lovely. My little Tsu-kun has friends and it’s wonderful to have them over. And please tell Tsuki-chan how pleased I was that she brought Lambo-kun over for a visit.”

“I will, I promise. Lambo is very fond of you.”

Nana blushed slightly and smiled happily. “Well, I should get going. I have a lot to do today.”

He gracefully exited the conversation and let her get on with her shopping, returning to his work. She was a nice woman; a bit oblivious, though. He was greeted on entering home late that afternoon by an excited Lambo, who was waving a piece of paper around.

“Look, Otosan! Lambo-san has worked hard!”

He scooped the boy up and examined the paper. Lambo’s writing—brush-work, really—was more than a little sloppy, but it was obvious he had tried hard for Luna. “Very good,” he praised. “I’m proud of you.”

Lambo beamed and stuffed the paper in his hair so he could properly hug his father, then squealed happily when Luna said it was time for his snack.

That evening, after Lambo had gone to bed, Luna reported the results of her visit. “I didn’t want to clue everyone there in on what I actually wanted, so I asked Reborn in Russian if he’d be willing to speak with me later, at the weekend. He said he knew where we lived and that he’d visit.”

He waited patiently through the week, expecting at any moment for the chibi to show up, but he did not until after Lambo’s bedtime on Saturday evening. The doorbell rang and Luna hastened to open it. Shortly thereafter she was ushering Reborn—and Tsuna?—into the living room.

“Welcome to our home,” Harry said in mild confusion. “Would you like anything to drink? Maybe something to snack on?”

“Ciaossu,” Reborn said in greeting. “Yes, thank you.”

Harry wandered off to fetch espresso for the chibi, a soft drink for the boy, and a selection of things to nibble on. He also brought a pot of tea for himself and his siblings.

Once they were all settled Reborn said in that adorably childish voice, “What is the issue?”

“I went to check on the circumstances behind exactly how Hari is Lambo’s father,” Luna stated forthrightly, then went on to explain what she found. Tsuna choked on his drink at how blunt she was, and at what had actually happened. “We wish to know if we have any avenues of recourse against the Bovino Famiglia—those responsible, at least. What they did was line theft and that’s an unforgivable action, compounded by essentially abandoning Lambo to whatever Fate willed.”

“I am actually very happy to have Lambo,” Harry said, “but what they did was so incredibly wrong. We don’t know the rules of—” He waved his hand around aimlessly.

Reborn nodded and eyed his student. “What do you think, Dame-Tsuna?”

Tsuna looked startled to be asked. He stuttered and bit and ultimately said nothing.

Reborn made a disgusted sound and asked, “What if it had been you they did this to? What then?”

Tsuna’s complexion went green at the very thought. “I—it’s abominable, what they did.”

“And a potential answer to that? Punishment?”

“I—I’m not sure. They didn’t kill anyone, but—they stole something so private. They—” Tsuna looked down, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

Reborn nodded and seemed satisfied with that. To them he said, “It depends on what you want. Killing would require a specific, precise contract, and a hefty fee. Otherwise the Vindice would get involved, and that’s never pretty. If you want to ruin them, that’s a bit easier.”

Harry exchanged looks with his siblings. “How much would it cost to ruin them?”

“Depends on how many people were directly involved and if you want it to be personal for each of them, or for the family as a whole.”

“Of those complicit there are twenty-seven living,” Luna said, handing over a piece of paper with a list of names on it.

Reborn nodded and started muttering to himself as he examined it. “Let me work something up so you’ll know what it’d cost.”

Luna beamed at the chibi. “We would appreciate it. Is there some kind of consultant’s fee we should be paying?”

Reborn smirked. “Free goods at the shop for a month.”

Harry’s brow went up in suspicion. “For you only,” he said, “not the entire brood over at the Sawada house.”

Reborn gave him an appreciative smile and nodded. “Deal. Be sure to make a lot of those espresso cupcakes.”

“Done.”

That week he was out taking his walk when he saw Lambo go squealing down the street with a tiny Chinese girl in hot pursuit. She managed to catch him, there was an explosion, and he actually laughed when he saw that the girl was completely unharmed and that Lambo was looking woozy and more than a little frazzled, not to mention that there was a small crater in the road.

He crouched down and said, “You okay, Lambo? Is this your friend I-Pin-chan?”

“Oto~san!” Lambo warbled tearfully. “I-Pin-chan exploded on me!”

“I see that. Hello, I-Pin-chan. I’m Hari, Lambo’s father.”

She squinted up at him and did a little bow with her hands folded in front of her. “A pleasure to meet you, Hari-san.”

‘Wow, she sure speaks well for such a little thing,’ he thought. “I take it that Tsuki let you out to play for a while?”

“Hai! I-Pin-chan and Lambo-san were playing Chase the Broccoli Monster.”

“Well, when you’re done playing you and I-Pin-chan can have a snack at home, or you two can come to the shop and get one.”

“O~kay!”

Harry left them to it and finished his walk. Perhaps he was mental, but he had been taking care of himself since practically forever, and if Lambo could smuggle himself to Japan without being caught it was probably not a real issue to let him scamper around town for a play break, even if it did involve explosions. The little guy blew himself up on a regular basis as it was. As he walked through the main shop door he thought, ‘I really have lost my mind.’

The two children showed up a few minutes later, tumbling through the door. Lambo was squealing again, but I-Pin was much more reserved. He watched as Neville chuckled and asked what the girl wanted, then put together a snack for the two of them. Lambo dragged the girl over to “his” table and beamed when Neville brought over a tray for them. “Thank you, Kuma-oji!”

‘Well, his manners are improving, if nothing else,’ he thought, and brought another tray of cupcakes out. Reborn had been in already that morning and helped himself to a half dozen espresso ones. It was a small enough price to pay to get a quote for a possible job. True, he and his siblings could go in personally and drive the responsible Bovino Famiglia members batshit insane with magic, an insanity they would never recover from, but he was more willing to let a professional handle things.

Reborn stopped by on Friday about two minutes after Harry got back from his walk, so he knew the chibi probably had their schedules memorized. Harry invited him into the back room and offered him a stool. Neville poked his head around the door and said, “The usual?”

Reborn nodded, so Neville disappeared, only to appear again a minute later with half a dozen cupcakes and a cup of coffee. “You know, you should try making tiramisu, Hari,” he said before vanishing again.

Reborn perked up and looked at Harry expectantly.

“I’ve never tried making it before, but I suppose I could give it a shot.”

“I would be happy to taste test,” Reborn said.

Harry snorted. “I’m sure you would. So, what’s the damage?”

Reborn pushed over a piece of paper and tucked into one of the cupcakes.

Harry picked it up and skimmed over the figures, his gaze coming to a rest on the bottom line. His stomach clenched a bit at just how much money was being asked, but those people had really fucked him over, even if he had ended up with a priceless gift. Thankfully the Potter family was loaded, and Neville’s was by no means poor. “All right. I don’t see any reason not to do this, but let me talk it over with my siblings first.”

Reborn looked as though he approved of him not just jumping on it, polished off the last of the cupcakes, and drained his coffee. “Let me know,” he said, then hopped down from the stool and departed.

“Damn,” he whispered, “this is a lot of money.” He went out front and showed the paper to Neville, taking care of a customer while his brother read, and glanced over to see that Neville’s eyes had bugged out. He served a few more customers while his brother remembered how to breathe properly again, then gracefully slipped aside to let Neville have his register back and retrieve the paper.

Lambo greeted him when he got home by somehow managing to climb up his body like a damn monkey, so Harry carried him over to one of the sofas and sat down for a snuggle. “How was your day?” he asked.

Lambo started chattering excitedly, puffing his little chest out with pride over how hard he had worked for Tsuki-oba. Luna nodded at that and smiled, then accepted the paper he fished out of his pocket and handed over. “And Tsuki-oba started teaching me acrobatics!”

“Did she now? Are you enjoying it?”

“Lambo-san is good at it,” Lambo said earnestly, “but it makes Lambo-san hungry a lot more.”

Harry tickled him just so he could hear the cute little giggles. “I have faith in you, and faith in Tsuki’s teaching.”

Luna got out a snack for father and son and called them over, so Harry carried Lambo to the table and set him down carefully. The little guy was disturbingly bouncy on impact, but there was no sense in rattling his brains more than they already were from all those explosions. Lambo squealed and pounced on the grapes.

He remembered the one time he had given the child grapes and had not been paying attention, and when he looked back Lambo’s cheeks were bulging like a chipmunk on a nut binge.

The grapes held Lambo over until dinner, after which he watched a little television with his son snuggled up on his lap. Once Lambo was in bed they convened again to discuss the quote Reborn had given him.

“I say we do it,” Neville said. “Yeah, it’s a lot of money, but. . . .”

“Maybe you had to be there, but those people were just awful, Hari.” Luna wrinkled her nose in distaste. “The things they did, the lies, poor Lambo running away because of what they told him, all alone. It was sheer chance he bumped into you.”

They went ahead with it. The next time one of them saw Reborn the chibi was asked to deliver a contract so they could go over it with a fine-toothed comb, then sign and provide the “key” to an account with the money already in it. The Bovino Famiglia would rue the day they fucked with Harry Potter.

Things were quiet for a while after that, even with the confirmation from Reborn that the job had been completed. The interesting spot happened shortly after Neville and Luna took Lambo off to the zoo for the day. The doorbell rang and Harry went to answer it, and was subsequently surprised to see Tsuna standing there uncomfortably.

“Come in, please,” he said, stepping back and holding the door open. Tsuna edged in and toed off his shoes in favor of a pair of house slippers, then followed him into the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? A snack?”

Tsuna stuttered out nothing in particular, so Harry prepared a tray with a slight sigh. He slid it onto the table and sat down, pointing at one of the chairs, mainly because Tsuna still hadn’t seated himself. After making sure the boy had a soft drink he said, “It’s nice to see you again, Tsuna-kun. What can I do for you?”

“Ano. . . . I wanted to apologize,” Tsuna said, so quietly that Harry had trouble hearing him. “About Lambo-kun.”

“Eh?”

“So many crazy things have happened since Reborn got here,” Tsuna said, destroying some daifuku nervously. “Lambo-kun kept—well, I was embarrassed a lot by him. He seemed so annoying. . . .”

After a long silence he said, “All right. And?”

“Well, Reborn told me Lambo-kun came here because he thought Reborn had killed his father. I never really thought about how he might not have had a proper family to care for him until just recently. I didn’t think about how hard it might be for him.” Tsuna became very interested in his soft drink.

“You’re still awfully young, Tsuna-kun,” Harry said. “Even a lot of adults often don’t bother to set themselves in other people’s shoes. It’s a good thing, I think, that you realized this. Was it because of when Reborn brought you here for that meeting?”

Tsuna nodded. “I had no idea that—it was awful. And Lambo-kun’s been so much happier and better behaved lately. I was just so relieved that I didn’t stop to wonder why.”

Harry nodded. “When I was growing up there was so much pressure on me that I could almost never see anyone else’s pain.”

“There was?”

Tsuna had such a set of doe eyes on him, Harry decided. It was like looking at damn kitten or something. “Yes. I was expected to save my community from a terrorist, simply because I survived when he tried to kill me as a baby. He had never before failed when he tried to murder someone. So I didn’t have a lot of room in my head to worry about other people too much, not unless they were really close to me.”

“Was it someone from a famiglia?”

Harry shook his head. “Similar, but no. He had a lot of people at his beck and call. But I did have friends and we helped each other. We would have died for each other, in fact, if that would have solved something.” Never mind that he had died, sort of, and nearly died so many other times. He did not think Tsuna needed to know that. “You have your family, so it’s probably natural to expect other people to have them, too.”

“Ano. . . . I have my mother. I haven’t seen my father in a long time, though,” Tsuna admitted. “The last time was two years ago. Something about off to be one with the stars in the sky.”

“That’s got to be rough,” he said sympathetically. He still had no idea where any of this was going aside from Tsuna seeming to want someone sympathetic to talk to whom he perceived as an adult. He had apologized for not being more thoughtful regarding Lambo, which for someone just hitting their teens was astonishing, but. . . .

Tsuna nodded and nibbled on a berry tart.

“Do you miss him?” he hazarded.

Tsuna shrugged uncomfortably. “I’ve never seen him enough to really know who he is.”

“Oh. He works out of the country or something?”

“Supposedly all over the world, but I noticed Kaa-san got a letter from Italy once.”

His eyes narrowed for a moment. “That would be a little weird, yes, having a father who’s a bit of a stranger to you.” So Tsuna’s father was in the mafia and Tsuna wasn’t necessarily aware of it, even? Had it been his father who sent Reborn, or someone else? “You have a lovely and kind mother, though. She seems to love you a lot. A little, er, naïve, though, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

Tsuna stared at him wide-eyed for a few moments, then laughed and nodded. They chatted about inconsequential enough things for a bit, like Tsuna’s school work (it was improving slowly) and the bakery (business was steady) and then Tsuna seemed to have decided he had taken up too much of Harry’s time and started making polite leaving noises. Harry sent him off with a box of baked goods and a cheerful wave, then flopped on the sofa.

“I still have no real idea what any of that was about,” he muttered.


	2. 02

## 02

Lambo tumbled into the back room, crying. Harry brushed off his hands and rushed over to scoop him up and cuddle him. “What’s wrong, chibi?”

“Dame-Tsuna is in the hospital!” Lambo said in between sobs.

“Oh, that’s not good,” he said, then frowned. “What have I said about that name?”

Lambo went still, staring at his father with wide, teary eyes. “Lambo-san shouldn’t use it?”

“Right. How do you feel when Gokudera-kun calls you aho-ushi? Yowamushi?”

A tear slipped down Lambo’s face. “Lambo-san doesn’t like it.”

Harry nodded. “So why would you say something like that about someone else?”

Lambo bit his lip adorably and looked sad. “Lambo-san will apologize.”

“Okay. Why is Tsuna-kun in the hospital?”

“Mama said he broke his leg!”

“How about we go visit, then?” he suggested. “It’s about time for my walk, and you can apologize while we’re there.”

“O~kay!”

He prepared a gift and double-checked with Neville to see where the hospital was and set off, smiling as Lambo chattered at him the whole way about his work with Luna or playing with I-Pin. There had been some game not long ago where I-Pin had realized her inability to read the language was a hindrance, so I-Pin was stopping by at times to learn the various forms of Japanese writing with Lambo. Harry found that to be a little strange considering a lot of things were written with kanji, which had been borrowed from the Chinese, but maybe they meant vastly different things based on which language was being used. Luna had occasionally tricked them into learning more languages, but Chinese had not been one of them.

Reception gave him the room number and he headed that way, but realized as he got to the correct floor that Lambo had vanished. ‘What the hell? Is he that reluctant to apologize? Sneaky chibi. Hide and seek games with him are a form of torture.’ After a few steps more he heard a joyous squeal and looked toward it sharply. Lambo was atop a food delivery cart that was rolling down the corridor at high speed.

Tsuna’s head popped out a nearby room and he stared wide-eyed at Lambo. “What are you doing!?”

Harry sighed and plucked Lambo off the cart as his son warbled, “Sur~fing!” He stopped the cart with his other hand, exhaling in relief when none of the food was launched off the front at the change in speed thanks to his Earth Flame ability.

“Lambo?” he said warningly.

“Ano. . . . Lambo-san is sorry?”

Harry eyed his son with one brow raised.

“Lambo-san should not have used hospital stuff as toys?”

He nodded.

“Lambo-san will do extra writing practice tonight?”

Harry smiled. “Okay. Now let’s go visit Tsuna-kun.” He herded Tsuna back into his room and back onto his bed without further comment. “Wow, you got a room to yourself.”

Tsuna aimed something between a grimace and a smile at him. “Y-yes.”

“Broken leg, huh? I broke my arm once. Not a pleasant experience,” he said, giving Lambo a look.

Lambo jumped slightly in his arms and grit his teeth. “Ano. . . . Lambo-san is sorry he called Tsuna-kun a bad name.”

Tsuna’s eyes went wide and doe-like, then he looked at Harry, who was giving him an expectant look.

“It’s okay, Lambo-kun. Apology accepted.”

Lambo squealed and hopped onto Harry’s head. “Lambo-san is here! How did Tsuna-kun get hurt?”

Tsuna froze up for a second, then said, “Reborn. A mountain.”

Lambo growled, and Harry could feel the tail of his son’s suit smack the back of his head. But then Lambo seemed to remember he did not have a real grudge against Reborn and settled down. He hopped onto the bed and pulled a small package from his hair, and thrust it at Tsuna. “Lambo-san brought a get well present! Oto~san made it!”

“You seem to really like cannoli, so. . . .”

“Oh, thank you!”

They spent a few minutes visiting, then Harry collected his son and brought him back to the house so Luna could pound some knowledge into his head.

It was a normal enough day at the bakery when two strangers wandered in. Harry habitually checked whoever was coming in to see if they qualified for a welcome gift. He left the back room long enough to let Neville know they did and returned to his work.

Things in town had recently been on edge due to students at Namimori Middle being attacked and sent to the hospital. No one he knew very well, but they were only children, and he worried about Lambo, even if he was a sneaky little cow. Even so, it was middle school kids being targeted, including the Disciplinary Committee, which made him wonder if Hibari was going to get involved.

He blushed as he remembered the day when he had almost been hit by a truck and had ended up in his hedgehog form in the middle of the road. While he was still processing what had almost happened he was picked up by Hibari and carried away, the teen murmuring to him the whole time in that soft, mesmerizing voice of his.

It was a trick escaping from the ridiculously huge house Hibari lived in. He learned as a result that Kyoya had a serious soft spot for small animals, liked hamburger steak, and had a secret liking for cinnamon. Harry later sent an anonymous gift package containing two cinnamon rolls and a half dozen molasses sugar cookies.

A faint jingle alerted him to the front door opening, so he looked through the one-way and saw Lambo tumble in and then race toward the back room, squealing the whole time. He hastened out and scooped his son up. “Lambo-kun, what have I told you about running inside the shop?” he scolded gently.

Lambo got that look on his face again, but instead of crying he reached up to pull a clay sculpture from his hair, knocking his horns askew. “Lambo-san made this for you,” he said, offering it.

He accepted it with a smile—it was horribly misshapen, but that was beside the point—and gave his son a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. I will put it on display so everyone can see how clever you are. But that does not answer my question.”

Lambo’s eyes went all teary again. “Not to run?”

He nodded. “You know what this means.”

Lambo grimaced and sniffled. “Extra writing practice tonight.”

“Right,” he said, tucking the sculpture away and ruffling his son’s hair. “And I’m going to comb out your hair again. How you keep managing to get it to look like that is beyond me. It’s like magic.” He ignored the sound of Neville snickering in the background.

“But Lambo-san likes to store things in there!” Lambo protested with a shocked expression.

He arched a brow, watching as his son settled down again. “You are much more handsome with your hair combed out,” he said, trying persuasion.

It worked to whatever degree, because Lambo preened at the compliment and planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

He knew damn well that the older version of Lambo had nicer hair and could still store things in it. “So, let’s get you washed up, some grapes for a snack, and then you can help me make some sweets. I’m sure Nana-san wouldn’t mind a thank you gift.”

Lambo squealed happily. “Lambo-san has the best father in the whole world!”

He chuckled and headed into the back. Normally he wouldn’t like to have the boy back there, not with his propensity for chaos, but he was worried his little man would get involved in the fighting if left to roam around freely.

Lambo got a quick wash at the sink and was planted on a stool with some grapes for a snack, and Harry said, “What do you think we should bring her?”

“Cake!” Lambo cried. “And tarts! And dango! And—”

“Okay, okay, a sampler.” He had Lambo prepare the boxes with a nice lining of printed parchment paper and hold them steady while he inserted various sweets. Shortly thereafter everything was stored in Lambo’s hair and they were off for a visit. Nana was happy to receive guests and invited them in.

“Lambo-san is here!” his son declared, then hopped onto the table and fished the boxes out of his hair and thrust them at Nana. “Lambo-san brought a gift because Mama is so nice to him. Oto~san made it!”

“Oh my, thank you,” she said, accepting the boxes and placing them neatly on the table. “Would either of you like some tea?”

“Only if it’s no trouble,” Harry said. She of course immediately bustled over to one of the counters to start some, so he sat down and kept an eye on Lambo—until I-Pin wandered in and gasped.

“Broccoli monster!”

Lambo froze, then turned around, then started wobbling around with googly eyes. “Broccoli monster,” he rasped, then wobbled off the side of the table. And the chase was on.

Nana giggled prettily and put cups on the table.

Things settled down after that. Whoever was causing so much trouble had either left or been forced to leave. The family went to a fair to celebrate, taking I-Pin with them. Not long after Tsuna showed up again when Lambo was out with Luna, so Harry invited him in and slid some refreshments onto the table.

“Ano. . . . Something weird happened recently,” Tsuna said.

“A lot of weird things seem to happen around here,” he replied, picking up some dango and eating part of it.

“It’s just—I met some other people who had been hurt by the mafia. I can’t say much, but—”

“Omerta, right. What did you want to talk about, then?”

“I don’t even want to be part of the mafia!” Tsuna burst out.

Harry shrugged. “It’s kind of difficult to avoid, no? I mean, Reborn is here, and all your friends. What else can do you aside from run away and never see anyone again? Did you plan to live on the streets in some foreign country? Do you even speak any other languages?”

“Those people were really hurt by a mafia family,” Tsuna said, essentially ignoring what Harry had said.

“Okay,” he said. “Does that mean all mafioso are bad?”

Tsuna slumped. “Dino-san is really nice. He calls me his little brother.”

“Okay,” he repeated. “A man kills someone. Does that make all men bad? A dog bites someone. Does that make all dogs bad? I don’t really get why you only see the bad and never see the good. You have friends now, yes? I’m not saying one way or the other what should do or how you should feel, but you’re being a bit unfair. What could you personally do to make things better?”

“But I’m a loser!” Tsuna blurted out, then slumped even lower.

‘Gods, this kid is like Neville was but on steroids to the negative. Always with the can’t.’ He ate more dango before saying, “Sure, fine, if that’s what you believe. Are you positive it’s not simply being lazy?”

“What!?”

“Don’t just have a knee jerk reaction. Think. Are you going to be lazy and prove people right about you being a loser by just sitting there? Never making any effort to change things? To better yourself? Do you ever expect to get a girlfriend or boyfriend by dreaming about it instead of doing something? Think. People laugh at you, so give them a reason not to. Unless, that is, you really are happy always being unhappy and feeling like a loser. Some people are like that, after all.”

“What about you? You didn’t want to have to stop that terrorist, did you?”

Harry laughed. “Of course not. But there comes a point where you do or die. Either you man up and work, get better, and stronger, and more skilled, or you may as well let a truck run you over and save all the misery. My life was at stake, and the lives of the people I cared about. Whining didn’t solve anything and it didn’t make it any more likely that I’d win. I still whined a bit, and felt guilty for things that weren’t my fault, but that didn’t stop me. Whining doesn’t make you a loser. Not trying, or letting whining be everything, does.”

“You kinda sound like Reborn,” Tsuna said a bit sullenly.

“You kinda sound like my brother used to back when.”

“What?” Tsuna sat up and gave him a wide-eyed look.

He nodded. “Yeah. But he realized one day that can’t and won’t aren’t the same thing. That he couldn’t keep relying on other people to fight his battles for him or expect other people to save him. He became someone you could fight with, fight beside, not in place of. I’m really proud of him.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Tsuna said, making Harry roll his eyes, “you’re already part of a Family.”

His brow went up at the way Tsuna said it. “You think so? I don’t.”

“What? But you have powers, and—”

“Yeah, so what?” he said, wondering just how much Reborn had shared with the boy, or how much he had stumbled over. “Doesn’t mean I’m part of a famiglia. I’m related to one, yes, through Lambo. What powers are you even talking about?”

Tsuna suddenly looked really uncomfortable. “Ano, you know how to use your Dying Will.”

Harry shrugged, wondering if Reborn had seen through Luna’s illusions. “Yeah, but again, so what? Doesn’t make me mafia. I did everything and learned everything I did well before I was ever made aware of my tenuous connection to a famiglia. I did what I did for the sake of my parents, who died to ensure that I lived, for myself, and for my loved ones.”

Tsuna got an oddly shrewd look on his face for a split second. “Then why are you here in Namimori?”

He smirked. “Because once it was all over we were free to live the way we wanted to, not according to the expectations of perfect strangers and people who weren’t even willing to help, the corrupt, the people who wanted to use us.” He shrugged. “But we weren’t born into a famiglia like I suspect you were.”

“But how did you learn how to use them so easily?”

Harry snorted in laughter. “Easily? No. There’s no miracle shortcut. And part of the answer to that is in the name: Dying Will. If it’s important enough to die for, it’s also important enough to live for, so you make it happen. You choose to believe you can do it. With enough practice you learn how to do it without it being so frightening, so you can back up your friends just like they back you up, and pull your weight on the team.

“Again, Tsuna-kun, I’m not trying to tell you what to do or how to feel, or make your decisions for you. This is an exchange of ideas, so maybe you can see where I’m coming from and why I chose as I did, because you’re obviously trying to figure something out based on all of this. You are ultimately the only person who can decide who and what you want to be. Power implies responsibility, and vice versa.”

Tsuna wandered off shortly after that and Harry slumped on the couch. “What is up with that boy? I kind of want to smack the taste out of his mouth.”

Somewhere nearby, Reborn snickered.

“Say what?” he said.

Reborn fanned a bunch of tickets out in his hand. “A luxury cruise and a visit to a resort island.”

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“Because I intend to bring Mama along and she could do with some adult company to keep an eye on the children.”

“There’s still a catch in here somewhere,” Luna said, torn between adoring the chibi and being equally suspicious.

“The resort is Mafia Land,” Reborn explained. “Normally you could never get access to it because you aren’t a recognized part of an associated family. But I have connections. You can have a holiday and make sure Mama stays out of trouble. There’s the trip out, a full day on the island, and the trip back the next day. It wouldn’t even interfere with your shop hours much.”

He and his siblings exchanged looks. Luna finally nodded, so Harry said, “Is any money involved? I mean, for the amenities on the ship or at the resort?”

“Only if you want to buy souvenirs or gamble,” Reborn said. “One thing, though.”

Harry’s brow went up.

“I plan to play a little trick on Tsuna and his friends, so I would appreciate if none of you clue him in. He’ll think that he and Mama have valid tickets, but that none of his friends do.”

“There are five tickets there,” Neville pointed out.

Reborn nodded. “I-Pin-chan can go with you. I will let her know to meet you here in plenty of time before you’d need to leave.”

Luna smiled at that.

“All right. We’ll help Nana-san keep an eye on the kids. I get the feeling you’re going to put Tsuna-kun and certain friends of his through the wringer, so we won’t have to worry about them. I take it that Nana-san has no real idea what’s going on.”

“Correct,” Reborn said as he set the tickets down. “I’ll be seeing you.” He hopped off his stool and saw himself out.

“I guess we’re taking a holiday, then,” Neville said.

The closed up a bit early on Friday and headed home to grab the bags they had packed. I-Pin was already there with Luna and Lambo, so they took a cab to the port and boarded the ship, flashing their tickets to the attendants on duty. Lambo was riding on Harry’s shoulder and I-Pin was on Luna’s. An attendant gave them a map and directions to their suite, so they trooped off to check it out and leave their belongings there.

A short time later they were headed to the dining room to get something to eat. Lambo was hopping up and down on his shoulder in anticipation of a huge spread and Harry was hard pressed not to snatch his son up and hold him steady. An attendant at the doors showed them to their table and they settled in.

A warning look from Harry saw Lambo behaving himself and not hoovering up every bit of food on the table. Harry went ahead and prepared a sampler plate for Lambo before serving himself. “Don’t eat too much, Lambo, or I’ll have to roll you around everywhere.”

Lambo giggled and started eating, so Harry took a moment to look around the room. There were a lot of people already present and enjoying themselves, and a glance at the doors showed that the Sawadas had arrived. “Tsuna-kun actually looks relaxed for once,” he murmured.

“Bet that won’t last long,” Neville said with a snicker, but sobered up when the two of them arrived at the table and took seats.

“Oh my,” Nana said, “how lovely to see you all here. Tsuna-kun and I won tickets!”

Luna smiled. “It’s nice to have a holiday, especially one that won’t interfere with Kidorui.”

“Lambo-san is happy to see Mama!” Lambo declared.

“I’m happy to see you, too, Lambo-kun,” Nana said as she prepared a plate for herself from the available selections.

“Hello, Tsuna-kun,” Neville said. “You look excited to be here.”

They ignored Lambo and I-Pin squabbling over a dish containing broccoli, but a quick look from Harry saw Lambo cease his teasing, and I-Pin look appropriately remorseful. “As soon as we’re done eating we can go out on deck and you two can play, all right?”

Both chibis nodded happily and went back to eating.

“The ship is amazing,” Tsuna said, “and the room, too.”

“Very nice,” Nana added. “It’s like a dream.”

They were most of the way through the meal when Tsuna saw some of his friends and went over to speak with them. For some reason—probably the prank Reborn spoke of—Tsuna went from pleased to scared out of his mind, and he and his friends dashed off in a panic.

“It’s nice to see Tsuna-kun having fun with his friends,” Nana commented.

Harry wisely smiled and nodded. “It is. Are you done, Lambo?”

“Lambo-san is stuffed,” Lambo replied, patting his stomach.

“How about you, I-Pin-chan?”

“I am full,” she said.

Luna clapped. “Okay! Shall we go out on deck now?”

“Please join us,” Neville said to Nana.

“Oh, thank you.”

The next morning they arrived at Mafia Land, though he had no idea what Nana thought it was called. “What a wonderful place!” she said, looking ahead at all the attractions. “Now this is what I call a high-class resort.”

Lambo and I-Pin started marching around in circles. “Theme park! Theme park!” Lambo chanted. “Lambo-san’s gonna have a blast!”

“I can’t wait!” I-Pin added excitedly.

Haru, one of Tsuna’s friends—stalker, really—started rabbiting on about the roller coaster and Tsuna got that freaked-out look on his face again, but before any plans could be made Reborn pulled Tsuna aside and told him to go check them in. From the gleam in the chibi’s eyes Harry knew he was up to no good, so he scooped up Lambo and waited for Neville to get I-Pin.

“The roller coaster here ranks third out of 8,452 attractions so scary you’ll faint, so you’re guaranteed thrills,” Fūta said. Harry only knew who the boy was because he liked to stop by Kidorui for chocolate amaretti cake every so often. 

“What do you think, Lambo?” he asked. “The roller coaster, or something else?”

“Lambo-san wants to go on the roller coaster,” he said, hopping onto Harry’s shoulder and pointing repeatedly.

“Anyone else?”

All of them nodded, so off they went, though Nana did not get on, only waited for them, but they could see her waving at them as they swept by at one point. Luna stayed with her, just to be on the safe side.

He had made very sure that Lambo and I-Pin were securely fastened in. It was a bit like flying, he thought, though not quite as good an experience. As they looped around a thought struck him. If he could control gravity, did that mean he could fly under his own power now? He would have to ask his sister, to see what she thought.

They went on bumper cars and various other rides—Lambo practically squealed himself hoarse—and eventually ended up at the beach. Neville stayed with Nana on a beach blanket, an umbrella shading them, while everyone else got changed and plowed into the ocean.

They had just finished dressing and were looking to get something to eat when an announcement rang out over the resort. “Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Everyone evacuate to the shelters at once!”

“Oh my,” Nana said, looking around. “How exciting! What an original event.”

Harry exchanged a pained look with his siblings and started ushering everyone toward one of the resort workers, who was directing people where to go. They followed the streams of people and ended up at a massive castle. “Nothing on Hogwarts,” he muttered and saw his siblings nod in his peripheral vision. The explosions had stopped, at least. How Nana had not seen the roller coaster crumble into scrap metal buggered belief.

“Tsuna!” Nana called out, raising an arm to wave.

Harry looked over and saw Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto emerging from a tunnel. “Kaa-san!”

“Tsuna-san, you’re okay,” Haru said happily.

“Tsuna-nii, I was worried ’cause you were taking so long,” Fūta said.

Tsuna heaved a relieved sigh. “I’m so happy you’re all okay!”

“Lambo-san wanted to swim more,” Lambo said from Harry’s shoulder. He could just feel the pout.

“Me, too!” I-Pin agreed.

“Now, now, we’re about to have even more fun,” Nana said. “Right, Tsu-kun? We’re going to fight off the enemy mafia in this castle, right?”

Tsuna freaked out again, his expression saying that his brain was melting.

Harry saw that most of the people had already entered the castle and started trying to edge their group that way.

“What a fun event,” Nana declared, all starry-eyed. “I’ll be making food with the other ladies in the castle,” she added, and finally started walking.

Harry smiled in relief and followed behind everyone else, making sure no one got left behind. Not the boys, of course, because he knew Reborn expected them to do something. “I almost wish we could get out there and help,” he muttered.

“But that would bring far too much attention to us,” Luna said.

“I know, I know,” he said.

“Lambo-san would help, too.”

“Oh no, no no no,” he said quickly. “You are incredibly brave, Lambo, but there’s no need for you to get involved. Let’s help make sure Nana-san is safe, preferably without any grenades. I know you’re hiding some.”

Lambo giggled. “Lambo-san is always prepared.”

There really wasn’t much to it, in the end. They had not been in the castle for very long, not even enough time for Nana to do any of that cooking she thought would be needed, when they heard an announcement that the festivities were concluded for the day and they would all be directed to the dining hall.

“Oh, what a shame. I was having fun,” Nana said a bit sadly, but she quickly cheered up at the thought of dinner.

They spent the night on the ship, and after Lambo and I-Pin went to bed, he turned to his sister and said, “Do you think I could fly?”

She goggled at him for a moment, then looked thoughtful. “I don’t see why not. But I think you already know you’d have to start slowly. You really don’t want to launch yourself halfway around the world or into the sun.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Hari, the Incredible Flying Hedgehog,” Neville said quietly, then ducked a pillow thrown at him. “I think you could do it, but you might want to practice with objects first of increasing weights.”

“Not a bad idea,” Luna said. “And then hovering.”

He nodded and stifled a yawn. “I’m bushed, so I’ll see you two in the morning. Night.”

The spent the morning visiting the resort again, chasing down any attractions they still wished to visit, then prepared to head to the ship for the trip back. For some reason, Tsuna and his two male friends were walking their way dressed in swim trunks.

“Tsu-kun, what are you doing?” Nana said with a look of confusion. “The ship home is almost ready to leave.”

“What!? No way!”

Luna looked up from the morning paper and said, “Did you know? Someone destroyed the water slide at the public pool. They say it looks like explosives may have been used.”

Neville frowned and sneaked a peek at Lambo out of the corner of his eye, then shook his head.

“No leads?”

“This says they do, and that the persons responsible will be paying for the repairs. There’s also going to be a festival soon, with fireworks.”

“Lambo-san wants to know if we can go.”

Harry eyed how his son was eating his breakfast like a proper little gentleman—mostly—and smiled. “I think we can arrange that.”

Lambo squealed and hopped over to plant a sloppy kiss on his cheek before returning to his meal. Harry grabbed a napkin to wipe away the rice and omelet that had been left behind. Once they were done eating and the dishes were cleaned up and put away, Harry scooped up his son and said seriously, “Lambo? Do you understand what Omerta means?”

Lambo nodded vigorously.

“We’re going to go to a practice field, okay? And I want you to understand that everything that happens there falls under Omerta, for our little family. You, me, Kuma-oji, and Tsuki-oba. Nobody else can know. It’s a Mori family secret.”

Lambo nodded again. “Lambo-san will never betray his family!” he cried, thrusting one hand up in the air and striking a pose. Luna cooed and giggled in the background at how cute he was.

“How does he get it to do that?” Neville muttered, eyeing the onesie tail as it flicked around.

“Everyone ready?” he asked. A minute later they had all apparated to the field, which was actually a fairly large clearing in a nearby forest, one they had already warded to keep people away, and from noticing anything odd. Lambo squealed at the feeling of being sucked through a straw, then bounced around the clearing giggling happily.

“Okay,” Luna said. “Let’s start with you, Hari.” She found some rocks and grossly enlarged them, Lambo hopping over to perch on her shoulder and goggle at what she was doing. “Start trying to get these to fly around, smallest to largest. If you can do that reliably you can move on to hovering.”

He nodded and started in.

“Kuma, I want you to try forming shields with the soil and the plant life, and trying to grow plants to capture things or be used to climb—actually, maybe an obstacle course for Lambo first?”

Neville nodded and got to work.

Luna dangled Lambo out in front of her thoughtfully. “Once Kuma is done with the obstacle course, you can get some training in, chibi. While we wait, I’m going to practice one of my abilities.” She planted Lambo back on her shoulder and started practicing with Swamp Flames out of the way of her siblings, trying to decay the grass. “I’ll have to bring in some stuff specifically for this,” she muttered.

An hour later Neville gave her a shout, so she left off what she was doing and turned around. “Oh, that looks wonderful! Okay, Lambo, time for you to practice. Let’s see how well you can bounce around in this, hm? Use those acrobatics we’ve been working on.”

Lambo struck another pose and hopped off her shoulder, and scampered to the start of the course. Harry hovered over shakily and dropped to the ground next to his sister. “This is tiring.”

Luna smiled. “But it’s wor~king. You had a good idea, brother mine.”

“Kufufufu!” drifted up from the obstacle course.

“That laugh is still weird,” he commented. “How goes the decaying?”

“Fine, thanks. I’m going to bring in a bunch of stuff to purposely decay next time, though. I think Kuma would get upset if I decayed half the clearing.”

“Ano, what about living creatures?” he asked uncertainly.

Lambo’s head popped into view, he looked around, then he disappeared. A second later he tumbled through the air to get over a barrier of thorny vines and vanished again.

“That’s an interesting idea,” she said slowly. “I suppose if we were ever in another real fight, it would be one way to defeat an enemy intent on taking our lives. Kind of like how you dealt with that sympathizer, just a lot more messy.”

Harry shuddered at the imagery intruding in his head. “Yeah. But I think you should see how far your ability goes, just so you know your limits.”

“Sounds gross,” Neville opined, coming up to join them.

“Well, once we get more comfortable in using these Dying Will Flames, we can have a mock battle or something,” Harry said.

“And get you two better at seeing through illusions. Lambo, too,” Luna said. “Kuma, if you will, can you make up a list of things I can bring here to work with for next time? A variety, and preferably what won’t make you cringe if you see me decaying it.”

He nodded. “Sure. Maybe some of the ideas we can come up with we can take from actual battles we’ve fought? To see how we could shape these flames?”

Harry nodded. “How we would have handled it had we access to them then, yeah. An interesting exercise, I think. Good idea.”

“I’m going to keep an eye on Lambo,” Neville said, “while you two get back to practice. Maybe alter the course as he’s using it to add some excitement.”

Just then part of the course exploded and the sound of crying came to them. When the smoke cleared Lambo was sitting there all scuffed up. Harry hastened over and scooped him up for a cuddle. “What happened?”

“Lambo-san tripped!”

“Did a grenade fall out of your hair?” he asked wryly.

Lambo nodded and sniffled.

“I swear, it’s like you have an inter-dimensional portal in that hair of yours, straight to a storage facility.”

Lambo giggled. “What’s a intah-dah-men-shun-ul portal?”

“You’ll learn that later, chibi. Kuma, are you okay to fix the course so Lambo can keep practicing?”

“Yep. Leave it to me.”

“Okay, chibi. Kuma-oji will fix it all up and you can try again. But if you get tired, you stop, and we’ll all go home to clean up and get something to eat.”

Lambo gave him a sloppy kiss and hopped over to Neville, so Harry went back to hovering practice.

More than a few days later Lambo tumbled into the shop right before Harry’s break. He pranced toward the back room, shaking his tush with every step and making his tail whip from side to side. Harry was unnerved at the display; Lambo only ever acted like that when he was extraordinarily proud of himself. He brushed his hands off and scooped Lambo up once he got close enough. “What’s up, chibi?”

“Lambo-san has been chosen!”

“For?” he asked uneasily.

“Lambo-san was chosen to be a Lightning Guardian!” Lambo said proudly, puffing his little chest out. He delved into his hair and produced a ring, but it was odd. Only half the band and half the crest was there. What he could see of it showed—a lightning bolt? And clams?

‘What the fuck?’ he thought. “Who gave this to you?”

“Tsuna-kun’s daddy.”

‘I repeat: what the fuck?’ “Why would he do that?”

“There’s bad men in town to fight Tsuna-kun and his friends.”

Harry yanked on his hair. “And you were chosen to fight? By what damn right?”

Lambo went all teary-eyed and sniffled. “Otosan isn’t proud of Lambo-san?”

He heaved out a sigh. “Lambo, you are so incredibly precious to me. I love you with all my heart. I don’t want you to fight in a real battle and get hurt, or killed. That would devastate me. We’ve been training you, but not for something like this, not so soon. You’re my baby boy. I’m so proud of how hard you’ve been working, with Tsuki-oba and on the training course with Kuma-oji. Don’t you ever think I’m not proud of you.”

Lambo sniffled again and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Otosan doesn’t want Lambo-san to fight the bad men,” he said thoughtfully, his little brow all furrowed up.

“Not while you’re this young, chibi. We’ll keep training you, so that if it ever comes to it you can, you’ll be prepared. But I can’t lose you.”

“Even if Lambo-san uses his bazooka?”

“Even then. I’d rather you learn to fight without that. But maybe we can figure out a way to watch the fights without getting involved. Then you can see just how serious this might be, and how dangerous.”

“O~kay! Lambo-san doesn’t want to make Otosan sad.”

He exhaled in relief. Had Lambo decided to do it anyway Harry knew his little man was perfectly capable of sneaking away without being noticed, and that they’d have to use magic to track him down. “You said Tsuna-kun’s father gave it to you?”

Lambo nodded. “At Tsuna-kun’s house. This morning. Lambo-san helped Mama to put up the laundry.”

Harry arched a brow; that did not seem likely.

“Ano, Lambo-san might have been running around the yard with Sawada-san’s boxers on his horns.”

Harry chuckled. “Well, maybe he’s still there. We can go return the ring, all right?”

“Hai!” Lambo stuffed the half ring in his hair and hopped onto Harry’s shoulder.

He emerged from the back room and told Neville he might not make it back at his usual time, and if so he’d send a message to their sister to come in and help out. “I’ll explain later, I promise.” Then they were out the door and off to the Sawada house.

Nana let them in with a starry-eyed smile and ushered then into the living room. Harry was astonished to see that the table in there was groaning under the weight of so many dishes of food. A blond man was napping beside the table, wearing only a pair of boxers—were those moles printed on them wearing hard hats and holding pickaxes?—and a white wife beater. Several empty wine bottles were scattered nearby.

Fūta was kneeling on a cushion on one side of the table, I-Pin, too, and Reborn. Harry made sure to keep hold of Lambo so he didn’t go wandering off as he eyed the blond with anger and suspicion.

“Mori-san,” Reborn greeted.

“Yeah,” he said unhappily. “Reborn-san, Fūta-kun, I-Pin-chan. Good morning.”

“You do not look pleased,” Reborn observed.

“Really?” he said. “Why the—” He saw the children again and chose different words. “Why would I be pleased? Lambo told me something extremely upsetting just a little while ago. May I have that ring, chibi?”

Lambo delved into his hair and produced the ring, and deposited it in Harry’s hand.

“Thank you.” He tossed the ring to Reborn, who caught it easily. “I am more than a little angry that some stranger arbitrarily decided to use my five year old son—and without even asking me—never mind that it could potentially be a life or death situation.”

The blond snorted in his sleep and grunted, then his eyes opened and he sat up, scratching his chest. “What’s the problem? It’s a great honor!”

“Have you always been insane,” he shot back, “or is this a new thing? How dare you attempt to put my son in danger?”

The blond laughed heartily and said to Reborn, “He has no idea who he’s dealing with, eh?”

“Lambo will not be participating in whatever altercation is going down. Find yourself a different patsy.”

The blond opened his mouth again, but Harry was done. He turned around and left, giving Nana a wave on the way out. Sawada-san reminded him far too much of Lockhart, so talking was pointless.

Several days later he got a really bad feeling. “Where is Lambo?” he asked his siblings.

“He went out with I-Pin and Fūta. Haru and Kyoko, too.”

“Something is wrong,” he said stiffly. “I think he’s in danger. We need to find him.”

Luna clapped. “Okay! Let’s go.”

A quick charm gave them a heading and they took off, preparing to have to fight if the chibi really was in danger. They found him with I-Pin and Fūta, being menaced by a man in black, having arrived just in time to hear him say he planned to kill all three children.

“I don’t fucking think so,” he yelled as Luna and Neville landed next to him. “Why are you here?” They each scooped up a child, Neville taking Fūta.

“Orders, man. We need that ring.”

“Ring?” He looked and saw the damn thing glinting in Lambo’s hair. “How the hell did that get there?”

Lambo looked scared. “Lambo-san didn’t know!” he cried. “Lambo-san didn’t disobey Otosan!”

“I believe you, chibi. It’s okay.” ‘And I bet I know who’s responsible.’

Two more men showed up, dressed exactly like the first one was. Each of them had swords crackling with lightning.

Quietly Harry said in Russian, “One each, as they face us, memory charm. Then we apparate. Go to our house.”

His siblings nodded and slid wands out of their sleeves just enough to use them without being obvious.

“Kids, hold on tight and close your eyes. Don’t let go.” He tapped his foot, and on the third tap they threw out obliviates and apparated. The second they were there he plucked the ring from Lambo’s hair and apparated again, landing in an alley near the Sawada house. He stormed up to the door and mashed the doorbell.

Nana answered, still all starry-eyed, and let him in.

“Is Sawada-san at home?”

“Oh, no, he’s away at the moment,” she said. “Is there something I can do?”

‘Shit. I can’t leave it here. Those jerks might not remember what happened, but they can obviously track the ring.’ “Ano, no. Thank you so much.” He took off and quickly did another location charm. Reborn was headed in the same direction they had apparated from. ‘What is so important about this fucking ring?’

He took off after Reborn and caught up to him and Tsuna thanks to being able to speed himself up. The ring was shoved into the hitman’s hands. “You deal with it!” he roared, then backtracked to an alley so he could apparate home. Everyone was still there, looking a bit confused, but happy enough due to the snacks and drinks his siblings had set out.

“Everything okay now?” Luna asked.

“Depends on your definition,” he said roughly. “I made Reborn take the thing. Blondie has a lot to answer for.”

Elsewhere in town Reborn and Tsuna had stopped dead. Reborn was staring at the half ring in his hand in confusion.

“H-how?” Tsuna said.

Reborn knew that Iemitsu had blown off Hari’s words and had somehow managed to plant the ring on Lambo, still intent on using the child as the Lightning Guardian. The moment they had learned the Varia were in town already Iemitsu told them to protect the boy. He heaved a sigh and headed back to the Sawada house. How Hari had managed to figure out Lambo was in danger or even where Reborn was. . . . Earth Flame users did not have that kind of power. It was an intriguing mystery.

Back at the house they ran into Iemitsu, who said, “I managed to warn everyone. Where is Lambo-kun? You were supposed to protect him.”

Tsuna froze up and Reborn heaved a tiny sigh. “Your plan didn’t work. Mori-san returned the ring to me before we ever found the boy. He apparently meant it when he said he would not allow Lambo-kun to be the Lightning Guardian.”

Iemitsu frowned. “I may have to talk some sense into that man.”

“N-no!” Tsuna yelled. “You don’t have that right!”

Iemitsu snorted and then beamed. “The Bovino Famiglia is allied with the Vongola. Of course it’d be an honor for one of them to be your guardian.”

Tsuna slumped over in disbelief.

“Iemitsu-san, I really think you should leave this be,” Reborn said. “It’s one thing to make decisions for your own son, but for some other man’s? No.”

Just then the phone rang, then stopped. A minute later Mama appeared. “That was Tsuki-chan. I-Pin-chan and Fūta-kun are having a sleepover with Lambo-kun. Isn’t that lovely?” She paused. “Oh my, maybe I made a little too much food, then.” She wandered off to the kitchen.

Iemitsu opened his mouth and Tsuna fled up the stairs. Iemitsu looked confused for a moment, then said, “Where does Mori-san live? I’ll go have a talk with him.” He looked down expecting an answer from Reborn and blinked when he was nowhere in sight. The ring, however, was sitting in his place.

Harry jumped and clutched at his chest when he noticed Reborn was at the table calmly nibbling on some daifuku. “When did you get here?”

“I came to find out what happened. The ring is back with Sawada-san.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed. He shrugged and said, “I had a feeling Lambo was in danger. We went and rescued the kids. I returned the ring to you.”

Reborn nodded. “How?”

“Family se~cret!” Lambo warbled. “Otosan was wonderful!” Then he grabbed Fūta and I-Pin by the hands and scampered off upstairs.

“I sincerely hope you didn’t tell Sawada-san where we live,” Neville said.

Reborn shook his head. “I respect your decision, and that Lambo-kun won’t do it. Iemitsu-san does not. You might want to keep the boy inside for a while, until this is over.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Harry said. “Any places we should avoid if one of us three is out and about?”

Reborn gave him a look. “I would not be surprised if he gets the location of the bakery from Mama.”

Luna sighed.

“One more thing. The man after Lambo-kun may not give up. He takes everything seriously. Once he’s chosen a target, he’ll beat them to a pulp, women and children included.”

Reborn took his leave, and Harry very inconspicuously tossed up some misdirection wards. If Reborn could get into the house that easily. . . . On top of that, they chose to speak in Tagalog, hoping that was something Reborn would not know if he was still somehow able to listen in. Luna’s thing for stuffing them full of languages was not such a bad deal under the circumstances.

“What the fuck?” Neville said.

Harry growled and shredded a pair of disposable hashi. “We’re going to have to update the wards, as quickly as possible.”

Luna nodded. “Kuma, keep an eye on the children. Hari and I will start here, with the house. We’ll move on to the bakery as soon as we’re finished.”

“I know Sawada’s feel well enough to target him specifically, but I’m not so sure about the men here for whatever fight is about to happen,” Harry said.

“What the hell were those swords?” Neville asked. “Was that some kind of manifestation of Dying Will Flames?”

“Maybe?” Luna said. “They were after Lambo, and he’s Lightning. It kind of makes sense. Anyway, get to watching. You can always portkey the kids to the training field if absolutely necessary.”

Neville nodded and got up, and that was when the doorbell rang. They exchanged an uneasy look. Neville fled upstairs, and Harry went to answer the door.

“Good evening, Mori-san,” one of the two men standing there said to Harry, aiming a pleasant smile his way. They were dressed exactly the same, and held up badges that said: Magical Assembly of Japan, Incorporated.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, eyeing the two of them.

“We were alerted to an incident. May we please come in so we can speak about this?”

“I guess so,” he said slowly, stepping back. He allowed the two men in and ushered them to the living room. “An incident?” he said once they had all taken seats.

“Yes. Three counts of the obliviation charm were registered. We are obliged to investigate. Will you please tell us what happened?”

He relaxed slightly, as did Luna. The odds of a non-magical knowing that phrase was miniscule. “My son was in danger from three men wielding swords. They were obliviated to cover our escape from the scene. We erased the last few minutes from them and disapparated while they were disoriented.”

Surprisingly the men accepted that as the full truth, or enough of it. “Is there any assistance we can provide?”

“Ano, we were just about to update the wards here, and then at our place of business. We should be fine. I’ll be keeping my son inside for a while, anyway, just in case.”

One of them pulled a business card from his pocket and slid it onto the coffee table. “Please let us know if we are needed.” Then they got up and allowed themselves to be escorted out.

He and Luna exchanged a look, shrugged, and got to work. “I’m a bit stunned,” he commented. “That was nothing like the British Ministry.”

“I’m grateful,” she replied. “I have to imagine the magicals here in Japan are far better behaved, for one thing, and long-standing Japanese culture has instilled certain values into the system of government here.”

They did not get back to the house until around two in the morning, and they were both dead tired. Harry checked in on the children and saw that they were arrayed like a bunch of kittens in the middle of one of the futons, so he left them to it and stripped down so he could fall into bed.

When he woke up the next morning he had Lambo cuddled up to him again, and smiled. Over breakfast they had a coded discussion, during which Neville managed to get across that I-Pin and Fūta were under the impression that some form of mafia “magic” had been used to get them away, and that they had promised to keep it a secret. Unfortunately they were much too young to try to get a proper vow out of, even with an adult using their own magic to help seal it. They would simply have to trust that the two children had the honor to stick to their promises.

Harry headed off to the bakery after reminding Lambo that he would need to stay in for the time being. Lambo looked very unhappy, but Luna promised to make things fun. Neville said he would deliver Fūta and I-Pin to the Sawada household before coming in. Harry, to save time, apparated as soon as he was out of sight of the two non-family members, straight into the bakery’s kitchen, and got to work. He had lost time to make up for.

Neville arrived a bit later and started loading trays of sweets into their respective slots in the displays, and then opened the shop. Over the course of the morning Harry noticed Iemitsu wandering by the bakery on numerous occasions, but never seeming to see it, so he felt relief that the changes they had made held up against the man.

He opted not to go for his usual walk and instead apparated home for his break. He spent that time playing with Lambo, making little clay sculptures together. When Tsuna and his friends showed up at the bakery that afternoon he did not come out, but he did tag them with locator charms. He was about to add ones for listening, then second-guessed himself. Knowing where they were was one thing; the charms would only last about twenty-four hours. Listening to everything they said during that time was more of an invasion of privacy than he could handle.

That evening he noticed the boys had converged on the school they attended and scratched his head in confusion. Despite being very tempted to go peek in on things he resisted. The more they knew the intimate details of whatever was going on, the more they might be dragged into mafia business. Lambo was already in bed and they had a baby monitor set up, so Harry said, “I know where they are right now, but. . . .” He explained his thoughts to see how they reacted.

“Oo, tough one,” Luna said.

“I don’t think we should,” Neville opined. “I think maybe you’re right. If this is famiglia business then we have no real right to poke our noses in further. It’s a little weird that they’re at the school, I agree, but if anyone finds out we witnessed anything, we could be pulled in for real, or silenced.”

Luna nodded after a moment.

“Okay. I’ll let the charms wear off and we keep out of it. I did want Lambo to see how serious this is, whatever it is, but not with that kind of risk.”

Tsuna came into the bakery the next afternoon looking panicked. He scurried over to Neville at the counter and started whispering. Curious, Harry emerged to listen in. Tsuna noticed him and waved him over frantically. “Keep Lambo-kun hidden!” he hissed.

“We intend to,” Harry said slowly.

“My father is out of his mind trying to find him. I can’t say much. Just keep him hidden. I’ll try to get Reborn to let you know when it’s okay again.” Tsuna dashed off, tripped half way to the door and managed to recover, then darted outside and down the street.

“Okay, then,” he said. “At least Tsuna-kun in on our side in this.”

Neville snorted. “Tsuna-kun wishes he would wake up to find all of this madness was just a long nightmare.”

“True.” As soon as they had closed up the shop they apparated home from the back room. Lambo squealed and tumbled over to greet him, so Harry picked him up so they could cuddle. “How was your day?”

“Lambo-san had fun! Can Lambo-san train at the field today?”

“Ano, it’s not safe yet, chibi. Give it a bit more time. But if you want, we can play tonight, just you and me. Maybe make some more pretty sculptures for the bakery?”

“Video games?”

“Okay, we can do that.” ‘And I’ll get my ass kicked, probably.’

Later that night he spent some time reading Lambo a bedtime story, and tucked him in more securely once his little man had fallen asleep. He made sure the monitor was on and went downstairs to get a snack, then returned and read for a while before falling asleep himself.

Reborn stopped by the bakery the next morning and opted for a two espresso cupcakes and two servings of tiramisu. Harry came out once he saw the chibi giving him a look—he definitely was not fooled by the illusion on the doorway—and took a seat.

“It should be reasonably safe at this point, but I would still stay on your guard until this is all over.”

“I had planned to,” he said. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on and I’d rather not know. But I would appreciate a heads up once we no longer need to keep Lambo under house arrest.”

“Will do.”

Harry nodded and retreated to his kitchen. He dithered for a while when it was time to head home for his break because Reborn was still eating, and it annoyed him. He did not want to apparate while the chibi could witness it, but was worried that if he did not get going Lambo might do something foolish. He finally made sure he could not be seen at all from line of sight through the door, and apparated.

They went to the training field that night. It was still raining, but the violence of the storm from the night before had lessened. There was still plenty of rain falling and more than a few lightning strikes. Harry simply took it as an opportunity to experiment with altering gravity around himself and the others such that the rain slid off to either side rather than hitting any of them directly.

Lambo was happily tumbling through the obstacle course with Neville altering it on the fly. Then the lightning struck. Lambo squealed in pain and fright. Harry’s heart seized up in his chest and he thought he might keel over and die on the spot. Once the light faded and their vision returned he could see Lambo sitting in the middle of a destroyed course, bawling his eyes out.

He rushed over to pick him up, but another strike hit. His arm went up to shield his eyes, and the second he could he snatched Lambo up and apparated home. “Lambo!” he said urgently. “Lambo?”

“O~to~san?”

Luna and Neville appeared, both looking frantic. “Is he okay?” Luna said breathlessly, and whipped her wand out to start doing diagnostics. “He—he’s fine. Just a little scorched.”

“What the fuck?” Neville whispered.

“Rule number two,” Harry said loudly. “No training when there are thunderstorms!”

“What was rule number one?” Neville whispered to Luna.

“No letting any of us train alone?” she whispered back. “Maybe?”

“He’ll be fine.”

Harry whipped around ready to kill. “What the hell are you doing here?” he growled.

Reborn shrugged. “Ciaossu. I was in the neighborhood. Lambo-kun was hit by lightning, yes? He’ll be fine.”

“I can see that he’s fine,” Harry snarled. “He’s only a bit shook up. What are you trying to say? He’s a damn lightning rod in human form?”

“Essentially, yes. There’s a reason why Iemitsu-san wanted him as Lightning Guardian. With time and training Lambo will be able to use lightning against others, and getting hit with it won’t do more than tickle. Those horns aren’t just a cute complement to his outfit.”

“How the fuck do you keep getting in here?” Harry shouted.

“You can teleport,” Reborn said calmly. “Your sister can use a stick to determine someone’s health. What else can you do?”

“You know, you’re not so adorable when you’re being a nosy pain in the ass,” Luna said, “and poking into family business.”

Lambo sniffled and held up his burnt onesie tail. “Lambo-san’s tail is dead.”

“Oh, chibi,” Luna cooed, “you have more in your closet, remember?”

Lambo sniffled again and nodded. “Tsuki-oba will help Lambo-san?”

“Of course. Come along, Lambo-kun. We’ll get you cleaned up and changed.”

Lambo hopped over to her a little shakily and off they went upstairs.

“Look,” Harry said. “There are laws. What you witnessed? We can’t talk. Don’t ask more questions because we can’t answer them. Not won’t, can’t.”

Reborn’s eyes narrowed. “So it’s like Omerta.”

“Yes.”

“But this is why the Bovino Famiglia targeted you.”

Harry kept his mouth shut.

“Somehow I don’t think they were after you because you’re an Earth Flame.”

‘Still not talking,’ he thought. ‘But if this shit keeps up, I may have to call in the cavalry, someone more qualified than I am to ensure this doesn’t go any further.’

Reborn’s eyes narrowed again, then he smiled faintly. “I see. Just remember, you’re technically allied with the Vongola Famiglia.”

‘Still not talking,’ he repeated in his thoughts.

Reborn nodded and saw himself out.

Harry exchanged a look with Neville. He was going to update the wards, again, this time to exclude Reborn unless he was actually invited in. It would make the chibi more intrigued, but he did not feel he had a choice. As soon as Lambo was asleep he and Luna started tinkering again.

The remainder of the week went well enough. They did use the training field after work each day, just to give Lambo an outlet for his energy and to relieve the pressure from house arrest, but no more untoward events occurred. Harry could fly by that point, sort of, though not very high and not for very long.

Neville was getting much better at changing the course, even to the extent of trying to trap Lambo as he tumbled through it, and Luna was having success in playing around with illusions to further confuse things, and in speeding up the rate at which she could decay organic material.

As a side effect, Lambo was getting better at seeing through illusions. They all were. They had no idea if Reborn had an illusionist on his side who could cloak Reborn in someone else’s guise in order to get through the damn door. Luna was not telling them precisely what she was doing; she had only warned them she would be testing them repeatedly, though Lambo she went easy on, and only while at the training field.

They heard some really weird noises coming from Nami Middle during the night at the end of the week, explosions and the like, but stayed at home. Two days later Reborn showed up at the front door with an annoyed expression.

Harry smiled at him pleasantly. “Yes?”

“May I come in?”

“Oh, we were just about to leave, actually,” he said truthfully. It was a day off, so they were going to spend it at the training field.

Reborn’s eyes narrowed. “The altercation is over and Iemitsu-san is not in the country any longer.”

Harry smiled in relief. “Thank you for letting us know. I’m sure I’ll see you at the bakery.”

Reborn left without another word, so Harry closed the door and they all apparated to the field. He had no idea that Reborn spent the next two hours trying to figure out how to get back into the house, just because he had been blocked.

Harry was prepping for dinner when he heard a series of squeaky grunts. He set down his knife and went into the living room to see Lambo tumbling down the stairs. Before he had a chance to reach out with Earth Flames to rescue his son, the Ten Year Bazooka popped out of Lambo’s hair and Lambo landed inside. Boom! A cloud of purple smoke erupted.

“Yare yare,” he heard.

“Lambo?”

“Otosan.” Fifteen year old Lambo emerged from the smoke and glanced at the calendar, then nodded. “I am reminded of something. Occlumency should help. With the illusions, that is. But I won’t be able to use that for some time. Meditation isn’t a bad idea.”

“You know, it’s a little strange not hearing you speak in the third person,” Harry said, smiling a bit ruefully.

Lambo grinned. “Lambo-san is here!”

Harry laughed and hugged his son. “Occlumency, huh? That kind of makes sense if you think of illusions like the imperius.”

“Yes,” Lambo agreed. “That was the reasoning.”

“What happens to five year old Lambo? He takes your place in the future?”

Lambo nodded. “Spreading chaos wherever he goes.”

“That’s my little man. Maybe it’s genetic,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.

“They all blame it on you,” Lambo assured him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You’re something of a trouble magnet and I’m a magnet for lightning.”

He sighed and shook his head. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re such an adorable child, Lambo. I’m glad I found you fairly early on. It’s always a joy to spend time with you. I expect that will stay true no matter how old you are.”

“Of course, but it was I who found you.”

“You didn’t find me, you ran into me!” he protested, and that led to a mock squabble. Unfortunately, Lambo poofed back before they could conclude the battle.

Luna raced into the room and skidded to a stop just as the cloud of purple smoke dissipated to reveal the proper five year old version of Lambo. She stamped her foot on the floor. “Damn it. I missed it again, didn’t I.”

“Afraid so,” he replied, picking Lambo up and cuddling him. “You okay after that tumble down the stairs, chibi?”

“Lambo-san is fine!” Lambo declared. “Lambo-san would like his snack now!”

“Okay, chibi. Let’s go get you a little something to tide you over until dinner.”

A week later he heard a very loud squeal just before the power went out and everything went black. He blinked and hastened out of the kitchen on memory, then stopped dead when out of the darkness he saw Lambo’s horns crackling with electricity. He rushed over to pick up his son, heedless of the potential shock he would get, and was relieved when he heard Lambo giggling madly.

“That tickled Lambo-san.”

“What did you do?” he asked, bringing his wand out long enough to charm a temporary light on the wall. He checked Lambo over, but he seemed perfectly okay.

“Lambo-san accidentally stuck a fork in the socket.”

Harry looked down and saw a fork sticking out of an electrical socket. “I didn’t even know we had any forks.”

Lambo giggled again. “Lambo-san is always prepared!”

“Oh dear lord,” he said with a sigh.

Neville wandered in, his wand held up to light the way. “What happened?”

“Lambo happened. I think he tripped the breakers. We probably should put covers on all the outlets that aren’t in use.”

“Ano, yeah. I’ll go check the box.”


	3. 03

## 03

It was a lovely day and Harry was happily in the back making sweets for the bakery. Neville was out front manning the register, and Luna was—he stopped and double-checked. What was Luna doing at the bakery? He wiped his hands clean and wandered out. “What’s up?”

“I let Lambo go off with Nana-san and that bunch. He’s been working very hard, so I thought a break would do him well.”

“Oh, okay.” The door jingled and he noticed three men enter, strangers, so he let Neville know. There had been a lot of instances lately of people complaining about pickpockets, but they obviously meant the bakery no harm if they had been able to enter.

He had just rolled out a cart with trays of sweets on it to restock the displays when a man crashed through the ceiling. He hit the table those three men had taken by the window, though only one of them was seated there at the moment. Harry blinked, then frowned, because a second man followed, doing even more damage to the roof and ceiling.

Neville eyed the ceiling and said, “Ano, ¥800,000, we’ll say.”

Harry nodded and watched as Neville quickly wrote up a bill and placed it on a small, black, lacquered tray, then took it and headed over. He waited until both men had edged off the table and into seats, then set the tray down and pushed it toward the third man, the one who wasn’t wobbling. “The repair bill. I sincerely hope you can pay now, or I will be calling the authorities.”

Luna wandered by with a push-broom, muttering over the possible damage to one of the tables she had so lovingly inlaid with slivers of gemstones, and shooting poisonous looks at the three men. She stopped suddenly and sidled over to Harry. “They’re criminals,” she whispered in Urdu. “They stole Nana’s wallet yesterday and planned to do it again today. One pickpocket, one extortionist, and one conman.”

“Really?” he replied. “Make sure one of you tags them.”

She nodded and kept sweeping.

“Well?” he said, glaring at them. “I won’t charge you for the food, because every new customer gets a welcome gift, but the damage to the structure is something else entirely. I’d charge even more due to lost business while it gets fixed, but if you can pay now I’ll let that slide.”

The unharmed one smiled nervously and started to fetch out his wallet just as Nana’s group entered. Lambo tumbled over to him joyously and knocked into the man by accident. His bag fell to the floor and the contents scattered.

Nana gasped and pointed. “That’s my wallet!”

Reborn looked at it, the man, and then at Harry. “Would you like us to take care of this?” he asked. “These three are obviously thieves.”

“Lambo-san exposed thieves?” Lambo said, looking shocked.

“Yes, chibi, you did. Reborn, do your worst, but only after I get my money,” he said, staring daggers at the man.

It was handed over quickly, the man’s hand trembling, and Harry nodded after checking to make sure none of it was fake. “Funny how you happened to have that much on hand in cash. Have at it,” he said to Reborn. He made sure Lambo was secure on his shoulder and walked away, giving Neville the money. I-Pin and Fūta trailed after him like ducklings. “How about I get you guys a snack?”

Cue squeals.

He got them set up and wandered back over to the group, where Reborn was intimidating the three men into getting up for a trip to the police. He “helped” a little, altering their personal gravity to make them stand. “Nana-san, I’ll keep an eye on the children while this is being taken care of. Don’t you worry about them. And stop by when you’re done. I’ll give everyone a little something so you can relax after this horrid business.”

“Oh my, thank you,” she said.

An hour later they all trooped back in. Luna ushered them to tables rather than let them go to the counter. “I’ll be back in just a minute,” she said. “Hari made the selections for you all personally.”

He had, actually. He intended to use Reborn as a taste tester. A bit of searching had given him more ideas dealing with coffee, so he had whipped up some Kona & Kahlua brownies, and coffee-caramel crème brûlée. For the others he went with things he already knew they liked, based on past ordering history.

He helped Luna bring the food and drinks out and lingered for a moment after he slid a plate in front of Reborn. “Be sure to let me know what you think of those. You did offer to taste test a while back, after all.”

Reborn gave him a sharp look, then nodded. He took a bite of a brownie and hummed in appreciation. Harry smiled and wandered away. It was not much longer after that that it was time to close up. Once all the customers were gone Harry pulled the blinds down over the windows while Neville handled the books.

Luna used her wand to effect repairs to the ceiling and then put up an illusionary tarp to cover the fact that it was already fixed. She headed out under the cover of illusion and repaired the roof, as well, also covering that in illusion. “I’ll fake some people coming to take care of it over the next few days,” she told them once she was back inside, “and then remove the illusions.”

“At least the table they fell on is fine,” Neville commented.

She hummed and did a quick sweep of her wand to finish the clean-up.

Lambo tumbled over and hopped up on Harry’s shoulder. “May Lambo-san have his friends come for a sleepover?”

“I don’t see why not,” he replied. “Let’s go to Nana-san’s house and ask.”

They split up once they exited the bakery and locked up, and Harry and Lambo arrived at their destination after a pleasant walk. Tsuna answered the door and let them in, then ushered them into the kitchen, where Nana was considering what to make for dinner that evening.

Harry gave his little man a gentle nudge.

“Ano. . . . Lambo-san wants to know, can Fūta-kun and I-Pin-chan come for a sleepover, Mama?”

“What a lovely gesture,” she said. “Go find them and ask, Lambo-kun.”

Lambo squealed and hopped to the table, then the chair, then the floor, and scampered away.

“He’s such a sweet little boy,” she told Harry.

“He is,” he agreed. “I’m very proud of him. He’s doing really well with reading and writing, and whatever else Tsuki is teaching him. He’s also turning into quite the little acrobat.”

“Oh my. Well, he is quite bouncy.”

Harry smiled and turned at the sound of feet pattering their way. Lambo came in trailed by his friends and scrambled up Harry’s side and onto his shoulder. “Lambo-san’s friends said yes!” I-Pin and Fūta each had a small overnight case.

“All right, then,” he said. “Shall we be going?” He got nods all around so he gave his good-byes to the Sawadas and headed out. Reborn joined them once they were on the street and Harry gave him a questioning look.

“It’s a lovely night for a walk,” he said, pacing the group atop the fence-wall.

“Right. So what did you think of those desserts?”

“They were exceptional. I enjoyed them greatly.”

“Good. I figured since you were so fond of coffee you’d be the perfect person to give an opinion.”

“Why coffee-based sweets, though?”

“Why not? It would be a bit cliché to figure out new ways to use green tea, would it not?”

Lambo did a little flip and joined his friends on the pavement, and Reborn took his place. Harry was uncertain how he felt about that, actually. “Are you—no, never mind. It’s none of my business.”

“Not unless you plan to get involved for real,” Reborn said.

Harry sighed. “I’d prefer not to. I’ve kind of had my fill of—well.”

“Your own little gang war?”

He snorted. “You could call it that, I suppose. Why do I get the feeling that you were actually in the house those two times Tsuna-kun dropped by to visit, allegedly by himself?”

“I was,” Reborn admitted. They arrived at the house and Reborn hopped up onto the surrounding wall.

Harry took in the look he was being given and sighed. “Oh, all right. You can come in this time.”

Lambo and his two friends raced off into the house and upstairs, so Harry entered the kitchen in order to start dinner.

“You make an awful lot of Italian dishes,” Reborn commented.

“Do I?” he said, looking back over his shoulder. “I suppose so. I like pasta, for one.” He decided to make lasagne, with garlic bread and a side salad. They had plenty of sweets on hand due to bringing home some of what had not sold and would not keep well.

The kitchen was shortly filled with the smell of simmering sauce redolent with garlic and other herbs and spices, and Harry had the noodles parboiled and cooling, ready to be assembled. The rest of the ingredients were whipped up, and he swiftly put the whole thing together in layers and shoved it into a waiting oven.

The garlic bread was prepared and set aside to wait for a quick bake, and the salad was prepped and tossed; it went into the refrigerator to chill. That done he said, “Would you like more coffee?”

“Please.”

He took care of that and sat down, glad for a break. “I’d say anyone with eyes can see beyond your outward appearance, but you’ve already proven that’s a hilarious joke.”

Reborn smirked. “People tend to be easily swayed. When did you first learn about your Dying Will Flames?”

That was likely a safe enough topic of conversation. “Ano, a few months before we came to Japan. I know you can see past the illusion on the door at the bakery, and that you must have witnessed me making use of them.”

“Earth Flame users are rare. Finding one was intriguing.”

“More so than the Sky set? Huh.” He took a sip of his ice water. “I never really worried too much about where it came from, or if there were others. I’ve just tried to get a handle on it.”

“I suppose that terrorist you were forced to deal with helped.”

“Peripherally. If I recall that conversation correctly—hm.” He thought back to both times Tsuna had visited. “It was after all that, but not by much, I guess.” A mental alert went off in his head and he stood up and put the garlic bread in the oven. “You staying for dinner? I need to know how many plates and whatnot to get out.”

“Sure.”

He nodded. Seven dinner plates floated over to the table, followed by seven bread plates, seven salad bowls, and all the appropriate cutlery. It really wasn’t done to eat lasagne with hashi, after all. Napkins followed a few moments later, and glasses. There was no point in hiding from Reborn that he had control of his Earth flames.

His mental alarm went off again, so he turned off the oven and pulled out the food, then placed the dishes on trivets at the center of the table. The salad and cruets of dressing were retrieved from the refrigerator, and he strode out into the living room so he could call up the stairs, “Dinner is ready, everyone.”

A general stampede ensued and shortly thereafter they were all seated. Harry portioned out lasagne while Luna took care of the salad and bread, and Neville poured wine or sparkling cider, depending.

“Lambo-san loves this, Otosan!”

He smiled. “I’m glad. Shall we put it into the dinner rotation, then?”

Lambo nodded vigorously.

Dinner conversation mostly revolved around the children and what they had been up to, and what they planned to do during their evening. They were shooed off again upstairs once the meal was done so that Harry could take care of the dishes. Or he would have, had Neville and Luna not shooed him off in turn.

He sulked out of the kitchen with his wine glass and dropped onto the loveseat. Reborn perched on the other cushion with a cup of coffee. “You probably don’t realize this,” Reborn said, “but he mafia has a tendency to recruit anyone who can utilize Dying Will Flames. Or kill them if they resist.”

“For the love of Merlin,” he muttered.

It was like a light bulb went off over Reborn’s head. “I see. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before.”

“You met someone in the distant past?”

“Yes. A fellow by the name of Mundungus Fletcher.”

Harry groaned and said, “That sniveling little thief. He’d sell his own grandmother’s false teeth if he thought he could make a decent sale of them. The bastard gave us rather a lot of trouble, actually, at one point. He stole part of my inheritance.”

Reborn got a curious gleam in his eyes. “I trust you set him straight.”

“Unfortunately, he got away several times. I’m not entirely sure what happened to him. I assume he’s gone back to shifting dodgy or illegal goods around.”

Luna walked in. “He was sent back to prison. It happened a few months after we left. Considering how much time he spent in a sort of underworld, I can’t say I’m surprised you met him along the way.”

Reborn shrugged and had a sip of his coffee. “At least now I understand why you won’t talk, and how you were able to prevent me from entering the house.”

Harry gave him a bland smile. “You are a nosy fellow.”

“Yes,” Luna said firmly, sitting in one of the chairs. “Adorable, but nosy.”

“So how long before someone a lot less calm than you comes along and tries to forcibly recruit us?” he asked.

“The only other person who knows is Tsuna, and I seriously doubt he’ll say anything,” Reborn replied.

“Of course not,” Neville said, coming out of the kitchen. “He keeps wishing he’ll wake up and realize his life for the past months has been all a bad dream. I’m going to go check on the kids.” He wandered off up the stairs.

“What does harmonization mean?” Luna asked. When Reborn quirked a brow she added, “I read a lot of stuff when I infiltrated the Bovino base, but that term was never explained.”

Reborn had another sip first. “A Sky has six guardians. He or she can have more than that, but only six of them count at the top. They undergo a process called harmonization where each side of the bond comes to trust in the other. It can be quick or slow, but it’s usually slow.”

“Is that why Gokudera-kun acts like a snarling puppy defending a virgin’s honor around Tsuna-kun?” Harry asked.

Reborn chuckled. “Those two have harmonized, even if Tsuna doesn’t realize it. He’s not ready yet to understand.”

“Okay, so it’s a bonding process.” Luna hummed thoughtfully. “Can something like that happen even before someone’s powers have woken?”

“It doesn’t work the same way for Earth. Bonds form, sure, but not in the same way. It’s simply not a quality of an Earth Flame, or that set.”

“You could argue,” Luna rebutted, “that gravitational power is similar, in a way.”

Reborn smirked. “Nice try. I know of only one famiglia based on Flames of the Earth. True, there is a leader and six guardians, because like the Sky there are seven flame types, but their bonding is not based on harmonization. There’s been the odd person who can use Flames of the Earth, but it’s extremely rare.”

Harry rolled his eyes at this fresh evidence that he was special. “The universe really has it out for me, apparently.”

“Well, it has been an enjoyable evening,” Reborn said after draining his cup and setting it aside.

He was pretty sure that was code for, “I intend to leave now,” so he smiled and got up. “I’m glad you enjoyed.”

He had barely come back from seeing Reborn out when I-Pin came shrieking down the stairs, chased by Lambo, who was wearing a pale shower cap in his head. ‘What the hell?’

“No~oo!” I-Pin squealed.

“Cauliflower monster,” Lambo rasped.

Fūta was giggling himself senseless at the top of the stairs.

“Will you do something for me, Lambo?”

“What is it, Otosan?” Lambo asked, eyes wide with curiosity.

“I have a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. Will you allow me to store the Ten Year Bazooka away somewhere safe?”

Lambo’s brow furrowed and a finger went up to his mouth. “Ano. . . . Something is scaring Otosan?”

“Yes. And I think it has to do with the Ten Year Bazooka.”

Lambo’s eyes went wide with shock. Then he carefully pulled the bazooka from his hair and offered it to Harry. “O~kay!”

Harry exhaled in relief and accepted it. “I will put this someplace very, very safe. And we will train you well enough, and love you well enough, that you will never need it.”

Luna wandered in just then and said, “Lambo! Time for a snack.”

Lambo squealed and tumbled over to her, so Harry went off to put the bazooka under so many protections his head spun, and then threw a fidelius charm over it, as well. He had no idea what had been making his spine tremble so much, but the moment the thing was safely locked away it stopped.

He took a shower to clean away the sweat that had built up, dressed in fresh clothing, and went downstairs to play with his son.

“I had the strangest feeling something of great import happened recently,” Reborn said.

Harry shrugged and ate a grape. A few seconds later he said, “I had a bad feeling, so I did something about it.”

Reborn eyed him. “Did you have a bad feeling that day when you gave the ring back the second time?”

“Yes. So I did something about it.”

“Does this happen often?”

Harry ate another grape. “No. But when it does, and I ignore it, bad things happen, so I do something about it.”

“Interesting. I wonder if—I wonder which set of abilities it’s connected to.” Reborn bit into his baklava, releasing a shower of tiny flakes onto his plate.

“Maybe either, or neither, or both. It’s happened for as long as I can remember, but not with any regularity. I had a teacher who was supposedly skilled in the arts of divination. What she was really skilled at was drinking copious amounts of cheap sherry, and getting gullible young girls to believe her line of bullshit.”

An amused look was shot his way. “And did you study divination?”

“No, but I heard plenty about it. The teacher in question liked to pick one student from each class and predict their death in various and inventive ways. I’ll give her that much; she had a vivid imagination if the stories that went around had any basis in truth. And she’d believe anything you turned in for homework, so long as it was doom and gloom.”

“What was your school like overall?” Reborn asked, causing another shower of flakes as he bit into his baklava.

“A series of unfortunate events,” he replied wryly. “Are you going to be small like that forever?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, that sucks.”

“I give you my word of honor.”

Harry nodded. “Tsuki?”

She nodded and scooped Lambo up, so Harry took Reborn. Then they apparated to the training field. “Okay,” Luna said briskly, “you know the drill!”

Neville immediately got started on constructing a small building to provide cover, and the second it was complete Luna brought Lambo inside. It was storming fairly heavily. Neville then began to construct an obstacle course.

Harry had finally turned the idea over in his head to the point where he realized his “intuition” never twinged at the idea of Lambo doing lightning training, so he was willing to give it another go. He had sat Lambo down for a serious talk about it, and his son knew he was probably going to be hit by lightning again, more than once, but he struck a pose in favor of the idea.

So there they were. If Lambo got to feeling overwhelmed or in need of a break, he could retreat inside the building. Luna used illusions to make the walls of the structure seem clear, so they would not obstruct anyone’s view, and Reborn parked himself there on one of the chairs Neville had included.

Harry, naturally, was doing his best to not only keep the rain off those in the open, but to build up his stamina with that whole flying thing, to practice compressing things to super-heavy particles as quickly as possible, and a bit of plant manipulation on the side.

Once the course was finished Lambo tumbled out and started his first run. He was only a few meters into it when he was struck by lightning. Harry froze mid-air and pivoted in place, then relaxed when all he heard above the sound of the rain was, “Kufufufu.”

No, the real surprise was when he got hit by lightning instead of his son. He was knocked out of the air and skidded across the wet grass, coming to a rest inside the building. Reborn glanced his way and said, “Looks like fun.”

Harry grunted and dragged himself up. “Wasn’t expecting that. Damn. Looks like Lambo and I have something in common besides blood.” He got back up and coughed, a puff of smoke emerging from his lungs, and then readied himself and flew back out.

Luna and Neville were drenched because his control had slipped. Neville glowered at him, but he could tell that his brother was worried more than anything, and Luna just laughed and returned to practicing on decaying disgusting creatures of various sizes.

Lambo giggled madly when he got struck again. Harry came to a dead stop when he heard his little man squeal differently than usual and race at a thorny wall obstacle like a charging bull. Lambo hit the wall with his horns, which had been crackling with electricity, and all of it released into the wall. The still-living material took on a kind of burnt appearance, and Lambo bounced back and landed on his tush.

Harry swooped down and landed, then picked his little man up. They were hit by lightning again. Harry coughed up some more smoke and flew them into the building. Once inside he said, “Figured out a new trick, huh?”

“Lambo-san is amazing! Kufufufu!”

Harry chuckled and rubbed noses with his son. “Hm. Going to have to get you some animals to try that on.”

Lambo’s eyes went wide. “Lambo-san could use it on icky rats!”

“Ano, rats are not usually big enough for you to hit with those horns, chibi. We’ll figure something out. Okay, back to work.” He flew them both out again and deposited his son near the wall, then joined Neville in making the course more “exciting”. He also made Neville’s life more exciting by attempting to hold him up off the ground.

Luna responded by decaying the grass beneath Neville into a poisonous sludge, giving Harry motivation to keep his brother safely hovering. An hour later they were all sheltering in Neville’s building and having a meal.

“I wonder if Lambo can learn to call lightning down from the sky to charge his horns,” Luna said, passing out bottles of juice.

Lambo was too busy munching on takoyaki to comment.

“Or allow that built-up charge to form a kind of spear of electricity to extend his range,” Neville added.

Harry eyed Lambo’s horns as he ate. “Or use Lightning Flames to charge them, maybe. Anyway, we’ll need to get some more animals nobody will mind seeing fried.”

Luna started giggling madly. “I was just thinking—Lambo versus a blast-ended skrewt. I’ll have to look through what I acquired from that place to see if I can find out more about the horns themselves,” she said, giving Harry a speculative look. “After all, you seem to be a lightning rod, too.”

“If only Tsuna was so dedicated to training,” Reborn said with a sigh.

Neville shook his head. “Tsuna is old enough at this point to think too much about all the wrong things. Until and unless he learns to calm down—meditation might help, I suppose—and also to have a solid reason, preferably one that isn’t as sappy as puppy love, I expect he’ll continue to be difficult.”

“How does Lambo-san keep his horns on?” Lambo asked, a finger up to his mouth. “Lambo-san has never wondered that before.”

“Ano. . . .”

“It’s Lambo-kun’s magnetic personality,” Luna said smilingly.

Lambo giggled happily and finished eating, then tumbled onto Harry’s lap for a nap.

“I admit, I take some pleasure in torturing Tsuna.”

“I think I would, too,” Harry said. “Were we really that bad at that age?”

Luna tilted her head to one side. “Ano, not exactly. You always had resolve, even if you pointed yourself in the wrong direction at times. Kuma just needed, and got, support. Same for me, I suppose. You were more than a little tetchy when you were fifteen, but. . . .”

He rolled his eyes at the reminder, then grinned wickedly. “Just think, Reborn. If you ever get to grow up again, you can enjoy puberty a second time.”

Harry watched in bemusement as a dark-haired man darted from female to female begging for kisses. He supposed the man thought he was suave or charming—possibly even irresistible—but the women all fled within seconds. He was curious enough to peek into the man’s mind, and found out that he was Shamal, a medical doctor, and also went by Trident Shamal when he was being a hitman. He was just about to pull away when Reborn showed up.

‘Huh,’ he thought. ‘Now I know his real name. I wonder if that’s worth anything.’ Seeing Reborn had caused some interesting information to surface in Shamal’s mind. He gave a friendly nod to the chibi as he walked by, gave Shamal a look of disgust, and kept going, pausing briefly to watch I-Pin, Lambo, and Fūta go squealing by, then finished up back at the bakery.

Reborn arrived a short time later and ordered a few things, and Shamal joined him. Unfortunately, as it was a day when Lambo was roaming around playing with his friends, his sister was in the shop. Shamal tried his routine on her, but Luna deftly enough fended him off, then wandered into the back room to scowl in relative privacy. Her wand came out briefly, and she grinned like a cat after a moment.

“What did you do?”

“It will hurt a lot for a while,” she said, “any time he gets excited.”

He shrugged. “Just as well. He seems to think he’s Casanova or something.”

“It won’t kick in for another hour or so. If I thought I could get away with it I’d slip him some malaclaw venom.” She huffed, squared her shoulders, and headed back into the fray.

Harry eyed Shamal through the door with a thoughtful frown, then got back to work. Before he left he put together a little package for Hibari-kun’s birthday and delivered it, invisibly, then headed home.

Reborn stopped by that evening and was invited in, and set up with coffee and nibbles. “It’s interesting how an associate of mine has come down with a sudden case of intermittent pain recently.”

Harry smirked faintly. “That sounds unfortunate. Perhaps he should see a doctor. I understand they go through years of training.” He grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter, a napkin, and a knife, then sat down and started to peel it.

“He is a doctor.”

“Even more unfortunate. I hear they make the worst patients.” He used his knife to slice off a piece of apple to eat. “Maybe I should make pie. I haven’t had a good apple pie in a while.”

“How do you get your crusts to taste so nice, by the way?”

“Ano, just some sugar.”

Reborn hummed. “So you had nothing to do with it,” he stated.

He shook his head. “I hardly think I’m the first person to think of using sugar in their crusts.”

Reborn snorted and sipped his coffee. “Will you ever go back?”

He paused mid-slice. “Why would I do that? It’s more than a little weird around here, sure, but it’s a nice place.”

“Don’t you go to school for seven years to learn? And then to just walk away?”

Harry looked at him in disbelief. “Yes. But you don’t walk away from it. It’s a part of your soul.” He finished the slice and pushed it into his mouth to munch on, then eyed Reborn. “Wondering if it could help you?”

“Occasionally, yes.”

He hummed. “I have no idea. It doesn’t sound anything like I’ve ever heard of before. There are ways to alter a person’s age without affecting their minds, but it can mess up motor functions, and it’s only temporary, anyway.”

“How often to do you have Lambo train?” Reborn asked, changing the subject.

He allowed it. “A couple of hours a day, usually. It has the happy side effect of burning off a lot of the boundless energy. But he actually wants to learn, finds all of it ridiculously fun. I still think it’ll be some time before we could dare trust him in an actual school setting, though, even with that outlet.”

“And because he wants to make his family proud.”

“That, too, I suppose. . . . Are you trying to think of better ways to motivate Tsuna-kun?”

Reborn nodded.

“He seems pretty stubborn. Half his motivation probably comes from whatever girl or boy he’s mooning over. Maybe a quarter from his friends. He probably takes on guilt like a dry sponge, but guilt is a poor motivator.” He hummed thoughtfully, slicing off more of the apple and eating it. “History might not hurt, if it’s something that would alter his perception. Cold hard facts about what happens when he doesn’t apply himself and can’t live of daddy’s money forever, resulting in him having a job at some fast food place or pushing a broom. Making it fun—though with him as the target, nothing comes to mind.”

“Lambo has come a long way.”

“He just needed something he didn’t have. The love of a family. Say, want to watch a movie with me?”

Reborn blinked.

“Do we have everything?” Neville asked.

Harry and Luna checked over their supplies and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

They arrived at the Sawada home shortly thereafter and set up in the kitchen. The only people allowed to enter were Reborn and Lambo. They tossed together a meal consisting of Nana’s favorites (and more than a few things for the children) and, when Reborn was not in the room, made sure to charm each dish to stay at the correct temperature.

Lambo helped by carrying out plates (they had been spelled to be unbreakable), hashi, cups and glasses (also unbreakable), and various other things, while the adults brought out the food and placed everything on trivets at the center of the long living room table, along with the drinks.

Everyone sighed happily at the sight of the spread, though they waited until Nana had been served before squabbling over the food and getting what they wanted. At that point Reborn hopped up onto a cloth-covered side table with a festive banner decorating the edge and said, “So, I’ve gathered you all here to give thanks to Tsuna’s mother for everything she does for us.”

Guests included Tsuna’s friends, a blond man with a bunch of what seemed to be minions, and various others. Even Shamal was there. The siblings exchanged a somewhat annoyed look at that.

“Thank you so much!” Nana said.

“Why are so many people here?” Tsuna said, looking around with a slightly panicky expression. “Even the Disciplinary Committee showed up.”

“It’s because your mother’s such a nice person,” Reborn pointed out.

“I really don’t think the kid gets it,” Neville muttered in Egyptian.

“We did the decorations,” one of the girls said.

“Thank you all!” Nana cried. “I’m touched.”

Shamal got up and approached Nana, carrying a bouquet of red roses. “Madam, you’re looking as young and beautiful as ever. It’s hard to believe you have a child in middle school.”

Nana blushed. “Oh my. . . .”

Shamal handed over the bouquet, and then ruined it by saying, “Let’s have a celebratory kiss!” He puckered up and leaned in, only to be cock-blocked by Tsuna.

“No, no! Don’t hit on my mother!”

“So what did you get her, Tsuna-san?” Haru asked curiously.

“What did I get?” he said, his eyes wide.

“Please tell me he didn’t mess this up,” Harry muttered, also in Egyptian.

“That’s right, Tsuna-kun,” Kyoko said.

Hana sighed. “He’s got nothing. He’s not that thoughtful.”

“Ano. . . .” Tsuna curled up a little, almost like he was cringing away from an incoming blow, then produced a little bouquet of three red carnations. “Thank you so much for everything!”

“Wow,” Luna said quietly. “He scores points.”

Neville shook his head. “Nah. Reborn slipped that to him from behind.”

Luna sighed.

“Thank you, Tsu-kun!” Nana said happily.

“Nice, Sawada!” Ryohei said approvingly.

The blond man nodded. “That’s thinking, Tsuna.”

Tsuna modestly looked down. “It’s nothing.”

“Of course it’s nothing,” Harry muttered. “He didn’t do anything.”

Reborn squeezed a little horn several times to regain everyone’s attention. “So we’re going to start the Vongolian Celebration now.”

“What does it mean for something to be ‘Vongolian’?” Tsuna asked.

“Hasn’t he learned yet? It apparently involves someone getting their nose tweaked in a somewhat humiliating fashion,” Luna whispered.

“Everyone shows off a secret talent they have,” Reborn explained. “Basically, everyone shows off a trick other people didn’t know they had. Mama’s the judge. The person with the highest score on this Vongola Judge’s Board wins.”

Everyone looked behind and to the side of Reborn, where a tall, narrow board had been revealed. Numbers went up the left-hand side.

“And the victor. . . .”

“. . .Gets a gold medal?” Lambo asked.

“Way better than that,” Gokudera said.

Fūta nodded. “The winner gets any wish he wants granted. The winner gets their wish fulfilled one hundred percent of the time.”

“That’s amazing,” Haru said, blushing slightly.

“Past victors have gone on to be kings and astronauts!” Reborn said.

“I’m having trouble believing that,” Neville muttered.

“Maybe in a video game,” Luna replied.

“It’s easy,” the blond man said, “given the vast powers of the Vongola Family.”

“Lambo-san’s in!” Lambo announced, striking a pose.

Tsuna got a dreamy look on his face, with pink cheeks, starry eyes, and a tiny bit of drool coming from the corner of his mouth. He was staring at Kyoko.

Haru edged over and leaned in to whisper something to him.

“We do? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Tsuna protested.

Haru averted her gaze modestly, produced a maidenly blush, and said, “Don’t make me say it in front of all these people. . . .”

Tsuna scowled and waved his hands around in negation. “Don’t look so bashful! People will get the wrong idea!”

Several people chimed in with what they wished for (“World conquest!” Lambo squealed.) before Reborn added, looking directly at Tsuna, “Oh, forgot to mention, but last place’ll have bad luck till the day they die. Even if it takes the entire strength of the Vongola Family, they’ll follow him to the ends of the earth and crush his dreams.”

Tsuna freaked out, predictably. “Why go that far!?”

“Rules are rules,” Reborn said matter-of-factly.

Gokudera pulled Tsuna away for a whispered conversation as Reborn gave Luna a nod. She smiled and got up, then moved to the front of the room, off to the side.

“Hello everyone,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll be your M.C. today.” She glanced at the piece of paper Reborn handed her and said, “Starting today will be the MVP of Namimori Middle School, Yamamoto Takeshi-kun, voted most likely to bring to justice the illegal spitbug trading ring that leading baseballs teams have been using to sneakily win games using spitballs.”

Takeshi got a confused look on his face. From behind him Yamamoto-san said, “Win!”

“Good luck, Yamamoto-kun!” Nana said encouragingly.

“Thanks!” he said, then shoved a hand into a container of rice. “Okay, I’ll make some fresh sushi and. . . .” Thirty seconds later he had put together a half dozen and started juggling them. Everyone was impressed, except Gokudera, who scowled and sidled away from Tsuna.

He appeared moments later in front of Yamamoto-san wearing a baseball outfit and a catcher’s mitt. “Hey, Yamamoto!” he called. “Pitch me one!”

The change in Takeshi was immediate. In a split second he changed poses and hurled one of the freshly-made sushi pieces at Gokudera, who “accidentally” failed to catch it. It smacked Yamamoto-san right in the face.

“Over here. Over here,” Gokudera said, holding the mitt in front of one of the minion types, then Fūta, Shamal—unfortunately for him, Gokudera was the final victim, having paused too long while admiring his own cleverness. He took two pieces to the face and fell over backward.

“Fantastic,” Luna cried. “What is your score, judge? Ooo, fifty! Not as good as he was hoping for, I suspect.”

A little sticker with a chibi-Takeshi face on it was stuck to the board.

“The first part was impressive,” Reborn commented, “but it went downhill from there.”

Nana smiled ruefully. “You shouldn’t waste food, you know.”

Luna clapped once. “Next up we have the Extreme Lion Puncher, Sasagawa Ryohei-kun, voted most likely to become a game show announcer for MXC after his schooling.”

Ryohei cast a wide-eyed look at her before turning to a small table bearing a cinder block. “I’ll break this block with a punch so fast you can’t even see it!” he promised, somehow having changed outfits into boxing shoes, shorts, and gloves. He readied himself, eyes closed for a moment of calm preparation, then opened them and cried, “Extreme high-speed punch!”

A second later the cinder block crumbled and he turned to face the audience with a fierce grin. “Whatcha think?” The grin slipped off his face at the dead silence. “Something wrong?”

A low questioning murmur went around; no one had seen it happen and they wondered if it was some sort of illusion.

“And so,” Luna said sadly, glancing at the chibi-Ryohei sticker that had appeared on the board. “Ryohei-kun gets fifteen points.”

“If we can’t see it,” Reborn commented, “it’s like it didn’t happen.”

“Make sure you clean up, okay?” Nana added.

“Moving right along!” Luna said. “Next we have ranking champion de la Stella Fūta-kun, ranked most likely to become a hair stylist after a life-altering event involving angel hair pasta.”

Fūta blinked a few times at her, then grinned and looked at Tsuna. “Sorry, Tsuna-nii, but I’m going to win this.” He pulled a harmonica from his pocket and said, “Okay, here I go.” They were treated to a mediocre rendition of a tune Harry had never heard before, but Nana seemed to appreciate the effort he put into it, if nothing else.

“Thirty points!” Luna cried. “Oh!”

“No way!” Fūta looked crushed.

“It wasn’t bad, but. . . .” Nana’s voice trailed off.

“The only things he can’t rank are his own abilities,” Reborn said.

“Next we have the electrically charming Mori Lambo-kun—”

“Hello, Tsuki-oba!” Lambo squealed, waving a hand around wildly as he hopped up onto the impromptu stage.

“—who is voted the cutest little cow in the world, though I may be biased on that point.”

Lambo giggled madly. “Lambo-san is here! Lambo-san will be doing an interpretive dance routine.”

Harry exchanged a look with Neville. “What the fuck?” could almost be read in each other’s eyes.

Lambo giggled again, then put on a serious face and twirled and hopped around saying, “Lambo-san is like the leaves in autumn, the little snowflakes in winter, tra~la~la. . . .”

Harry and Neville broke out into wild applause for their little man.

“Wow! Sixty-five points!”

“Kufufufu!” Lambo laughed, then scampered over to sit on Harry’s lap.

“That was adorable, Lambo-kun,” Nana said with a wide smile.

“Up next we have the three girls, Sasagawa Kyoko-chan, Miura Haru-chan, and Kurokawa Hana-chan, the trio voted most likely to become a J-Pop idol group singing sensation.”

“What are they going to do?” Tsuna said to Gokudera as the girls took their places on the stage.

“The three of us are going to do a comedy routine!” Kyoko announced.

“I’m Haru!”

“I’m Kyoko!”

“I’m . . . Hana,” Hana muttered, looking like she wanted to sink into the floor.

“Jeez, Hana-chan, you’re so gloomy,” Haru said, flipping her hand.

“B-But. . . .” stuttered an embarrassed Hana. “I can’t do this,” she cried, and raced off the stage to hide at the back.

Kyoko and Haru exchanged a look and smiled nervously. “Ano. . . .” They exchanged another look and slinked away.

“Oo, forfeit. Too bad,” Luna said. “Up next we have Disciplinary Committee head Hibari Kyoya-kun—”

The glass door to the yard slid open and Hibari posed in the opening like a damn supermodel.

“—voted most likely to one day explode of an upset stomach after biting someone to death.”

“We’ve been waiting, leader,” the Disciplinary Committee members chanted adoringly.

A tiny little canary fluttered in to land on Kyoya’s shoulder and broke into the Nami Middle school song. The committee members were all moved to tears at the rendition.

When the bird was done Kyoya said coolly, “Baby. . . . I don’t like crowds. I’m forfeiting.”

Reborn nodded. “As you like.”

Kyoya took off, his committee members right behind him.

“He never changes,” the blond said.

“Okay,” Luna said, drawing their attention back. “Next we have a master of the Gyoza Kempo, I-Pin-chan, voted most likely to become an astrophysicist who works part time at a ramen shop!”

I-Pin was bent over in a bow, but when she straightened up Tsuna freaked out. I-Pin’s forehead was marked by Mahjong symbols and she had hearts in her eyes; she was a bomb waiting to explode.

“At least this time she won’t be exploding Lambo,” Harry murmured.

“She saw Hibari-san, so the Mahjong Mega Bomb countdown activated!” Tsuna cried in fear.

“This is bad,” the blond said.

“Somebody do something, quick!” Tsuna cried.

“No, you,” Reborn said.

I-Pin latched on to Tsuna, who panicked, then managed to get a hold of her properly and do an impressive underhand throw out the glass doors. I-Pin safely exploded in the sky.

“Pretty fireworks,” Nana said admiringly.

The girls chimed in with their appreciation, as well.

“Very pretty,” Luna agreed. “What’s the score, judge? Ninety-five!”

“That’s the new top score,” Reborn commented.

Luna shrugged eloquently and said, “This may be the end.”

“Not yet!” Gokudera yelled, shaking one fist. He had pulled Tsuna up onto the stage with him. “We’re still here!”

“Such confidence!” Luna said. “Our last entrants are the explosive Gokudera Hayato-kun, voted most likely to accidentally become world famous cosplaying a golden retriever, and the prosaic Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun, voted most likely to become a motivational speaker for entrants of tortoise races.”

“Tsu-kun, I’m behind you!” Nana said encouragingly.

“What will you be entertaining us with?” Luna asked.

Gokudera got a smug look on his face. “Jūdaime and I are going to show you—a magic trick!”

Tsuna had somehow been encased in a large, gaudily-painted wooden box which had many slots in it, held closed by leather straps.

“This is an ordinary box, with no tricks. With jūdaime in the box, we stab these sharp swords into it,” Gokudera said, holding up a gleaming sword, which he used to easily lop the end of a vegetable.

Lambo squealed and clapped.

“Um, there is a trick, right?” Tsuna asked, sweat rolling down the sides of his face.

Gokudera leaned over and said, “Make sure you dodge them, okay, jūdaime?”

A verbal altercation ensued between a seriously freaked-out Tsuna and a confident Gokudera, but the peanut gallery started shouting for them to get the show going.

“All right, already,” Gokudera snarled. “Get ready, jūdaime.”

“Stooooop! I don’t want to die like this!”

Into the silence following Reborn said, “If you’ve got that as a regret, then you’ll be okay.” The little chameleon that accompanied him everywhere morphed into a gun which Reborn used to shoot Tsuna in the head with.

‘Wait a minute. That was no normal bullet,’ Harry thought. ‘Is that—?’

Tsuna’s head went back and he stared sightlessly at the ceiling.

“Tsuna-kun?” Nana said tentatively. “What’s wrong?”

Harry face-palmed. Then he saw it; brilliant orange Dying Will Flames erupted from Tsuna’s forehead. The next thing he knew Tsuna had broken through either side of the box with his hands, grabbed the swords Gokudera had waiting, and had shoved them all into the box haphazardly. After a few moments of stunned staring, the box front crumbled and fell away, revealing a boxer-wearing Tsuna contorted around the blades in a way that any yogi would be proud of.

“Ooo,” rose up from the crowd.

“What’s the score?” Luna asked. “Oh, one hundred points!”

“We did it, jūdaime,” Gokudera said with a fist pump.

“Tsuna-san,” Haru cried, flinging her arms into the air, “our wish will come true!”

“And the winner is—Reborn!”

Gokudera fell over. “W-why?” he choked out.

“Well,” Nana said smilingly, “because he’s the best for holding such a wonderful party for me!”

“Yeah, I agree,” the blond said.

Tsuna went back to normal and immediately started freaking out and complaining of pain.

“My wish for was Tsuna to get one hundred percent on his test,” Reborn said smugly. “We’ll be studying all night, Tsuna.”

Harry finally found out during the remainder of the party that the blond was Tsuna’s Dino-san and pseudo-older brother.

“You made all the food?” Dino asked.

He nodded. “Reborn asked. Nana-san stops by the bakery every so often, and Lambo spends the night here occasionally with Fūta-kun and I-Pin-chan, or they sleep over at ours. We all think Nana-san’s a lovely woman, so we were happy to help.”

Lambo scrambled up onto his shoulder and said, “Lambo-san is here!”

“Pleased to meet you, Lambo-kun. I’m Dino.” Dino put out a hand and shook Lambo’s tiny one.

Lambo giggled. “May Lambo-san have an extra piece of cake?”

Harry smiled. “Make sure that Nana-san has eaten her fill, and if she has, then yes.”

Lambo planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek and tumbled away.

Dino watched him go with an odd expression. “Almost makes me want to have kids.”

“He’s a handful,” Harry said with a chuckle. “But he’s mine and I’m going to enjoy the hell out of his childhood.”

Reborn hopped onto his shoulder and joined the conversation. “Dino.”

“Reborn,” Dino said a bit nervously.

Harry eyed them both. “Let me guess: you used to tutor Dino-san.”

“Yes.”

While Dino sweated slightly Harry took a quick pan of the room to see where everyone was, then said, “Can we talk outside for a minute?”

“All right,” Reborn said as Dino nodded. Harry subtly signaled to his siblings and followed Dino out to the yard. “What is it?” Reborn asked once they had assembled.

“I just wanted to know what it even means to be allied or associated with the Vongola,” he said in Italian. “What rights and responsibilities are involved? Because we’re technically already associated, and it makes me really uneasy not having a better picture of the situation.”

“Uh. . . .” Dino said unhelpfully.

“Those officially associated, or allied, may be called on to do missions suited to their capabilities, dependent on their situation,” Reborn said. “The contract we enacted was carried out by an ally, one with the specific skill set required for the job, and paid a handsome cut. People who are only peripherally associated may be called on, but unless it was a dire emergency, nothing that would greatly impact their overall general life or their own famiglia. Rights include being taken under the umbrella of protection of the Vongola, and therefore allied families. Meaning, you could call on us for assistance with a righteous grievance.”

“At greatly reduced rates?” Luna quipped.

Reborn smirked at her.

“And—” He stopped, trying to think of a way to properly word what he meant. “You mentioned the Vindice.”

“Ah. It boils down to this. You do not attack allies. But if you do, you had better have a proper contract as proof and permission. You do not break people out of Vendicare, though you can negotiate in an attempt to get someone released. If there are any agreements registered with the Vindice, they will imprison any infractors. You don’t reveal famiglia secrets to outsiders. The laws are mostly common sense. The Vindice are some of the most powerful figures in the mafia, and it is never wise to provoke them.”

“How does something like the yakuza fit in?” Neville asked.

“While a tenuously similar organization, they are not a part of the system,” Dino said.

“So if I wanted to personally handle that guy sniffing around muttering about protection money,” Harry said leadingly.

“There would be no issues with the Vindice,” Reborn said.

Harry narrowed his eyes. Keeping them away was not a real problem. He was more concerned that they might become frustrated and seek one of them out while away from the protections of the house or Kidorui.

“If it helps, members of the Vongola alliance are not involved in drug trafficking, slave trading, prostitution, and other such activities. A place like Mafia Land is only open to famiglias which do not involve themselves in those types of activities. Not every person associated with the mafia is necessarily a part of a famiglia. Think about it for now. We can always speak of this again later.”

‘And that was code to have a huddle with my siblings later on to talk things over,’ he thought. He nodded and they all went back inside. When the food was all finally consumed they bussed the dishes back to the kitchen and washed up, then packed everything away.

That evening after Lambo went to bed they sat down to talk.

“I thought you didn’t want to be considered mafia,” Neville said.

“I don’t, exactly. You already brought up the yakuza, so at least we know we can deal with them with relative impunity, so long as we don’t bring MAJI down on our heads.”

Luna tilted her head to one side. “Have you developed a crush on someone in the mafia, Hari?”

Neville scoffed. “Don’t be silly. He’d be the last one to know if he had.”

“Hey! I am sitting right here. It does get a little boring at times, though,” he admitted a bit sullenly.

Neville sighed. “It does.”

“Though I don’t particularly like the idea of putting myself into danger when Lambo is still so young.”

“Fine. So we ask Reborn for examples of actual jobs the Vongola have done, scrubbed of any identifying information,” Luna said.

“If you did this,” Reborn said the next evening, “you’d be best off forming your own famiglia and becoming Vongola allies. That way you would be at the top of your food chain and would never be obliged to share secrets your members may possess.”

Luna started giggling madly. “Trasformare Famiglia.”

Neville groaned and said in English, “I should punnish you for being too punny.”

Harry smacked Neville in the face with a pillow.

“It would also serve to keep your other abilities under secrecy laws,” Reborn added. “I would imagine you might excel at infiltration or spying jobs, possibly very clean or very messy assassination jobs. Of course, we might swing it such that you could ally in exchange for the favor of helping to teach Tsuna.”

Harry furrowed his brow.

“That might be interesting,” Neville said.

Luna was on door duty, Neville was setting up in the living room, and Harry was finishing up the food. It was his baby boy’s sixth birthday. Nana arrived with Reborn, Tsuna, Fūta, and I-Pin in tow. Dino and some of his men showed up, surprisingly—he had mostly sent the invitation to be sociable and due to Dino’s comment at Nana’s party. Gokudera showed up, as well, and was apparently on his best behavior.

Harry had prepared mostly bite-sized foods such as little goat cheese tarts or quiche, caramelized onion tarts, and many, many others, including takoyaki because Lambo was so fond of it. People would be able to sample many different options spread out mostly over Italy and Japan. There were sweets, as well, but not nearly so many.

Neville finished setting up and came back to give Harry a hand with bringing the platters out. Harry eyed his son, who was staring at the food intently, and said, “Okay, Lambo, you first.”

Lambo shot forward with a squeal and grabbed a plate (spelled unbreakable again), hashi, and whipped down the length of the sideboard swiftly collecting things. He ended up sitting at the table thirty seconds later.

“Okay, everyone, have at it. I hope you enjoy the food.”

The siblings waited until everyone else had filled plates before filling ones for themselves. Harry perched on the loveseat behind Lambo’s position and started eating, though after sampling so much along the way he was not exactly hungry. He did have the odd empty corner to fill, though.

Reborn hopped up onto the arm closest to him and stole a flaky little apple pastry. “Very nice,” he commented after munching and swallowing.

Harry gave him a flat look. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were flirting with me.”

Reborn smirked and stole a tart off his plate and ate it.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Would you like me to hand feed you, little man?” he asked, holding up a miniature brownie.

Reborn leaned forward and opened his mouth expectantly.

He laughed and popped it in. “You’re shameless.”

Lambo hopped up from his seat and turned around. “When does Lambo-san get to play on the course out back?”

“When you and your friends are done eating, chibi. I don’t know that Tsuna will want to try, but I’m sure you and I-Pin-chan and Fūta-kun can have fun. But tell me before you go, so I can supervise, okay?”

Lambo nodded vigorously. Shortly thereafter the three youngest were ready, so Harry made to get up, not being all that surprised when Reborn used his shoulder to sit on, and walked out back with the children. “Okay, little people! The course you see before you is a test of your speed and your ability to maintain your balance. You are not allowed to touch the ground at any time until you reach the end. If you fall off you have to start over at the beginning. Pretend that the ground is actually a fierce river with hungry alligators in it. Whoever makes it properly to the end first gets to choose the next activity. Lambo has a lot of games you can play, after all.”

Dino had come to stand next to him during the explanation and chuckled. “How come I never had such fun toys as a child?” he muttered.

“Line up, now,” Harry said after shooting a grin at Dino. “Ready, set, go!”

“They actually look fairly evenly matched,” Dino commented as Lambo unfortunately tripped and face-planted, but as he did not fall off he was able to recover quickly. I-Pin paused occasionally because of her nearsightedness, and Fūta was at a slight disadvantage simply because he was taller.

There were balance beams, rope swings, tubes to crawl through, and more. Neville had done a fabulous job putting it together. “For all we know they’ll vote to run it again once they’re done.”

“So,” Reborn said, “no games of pin the tail on the donkey?”

Harry snorted. “I don’t think so. A certain someone might join in just for the excuse of pinning a second tail on my chibi.” He kept a close eye on their progress, ready to cushion any falls, and fifteen minutes later I-Pin was declared the winner.

She allowed herself a quiet squeal of happiness, then said, “Exploding Snap!”

“She would pick the game with explosions involved in it,” Harry muttered, then said, “Okay, little people, you can play that upstairs. Whoever wins picks the next activity.”

The kids raced off and the adults followed more sedately. He checked with Nana to see how she was doing and spent ten minutes chatting, attempted to make conversation with Tsuna and Gokudera (and even pointed them at the course out back, though he strongly suspected they were both simply too big to use it), and ended up back in conversation with Reborn and Dino.

After a while he slipped into the kitchen to fetch the cake. It was a series of tiers that Luna had hand-painted with food colouring to show parts of a forest, complete with creatures peeking out and lightning bugs illuminating trails. The guests all went a little quiet on seeing it as Harry rolled the cart it was on into place. Neville raced upstairs to get the birthday boy and his two friends.

Once they were all assembled Harry added six green candles and lit them, then scooped up Lambo. “Time to make a wish, chibi, and blow out the candles.”

Cake portions were distributed after that and Nana said admiringly, “It is such a pretty cake.”

“Tsuki did the painting,” he said, handing her a plate with a slice. “She’s very artistic.”

“Your sister is very talented,” Nana agreed, then wandered off in Luna’s direction.

“I take it that Tsuki-chan did the decorating at the bakery?” Reborn asked.

He nodded. “I can’t draw or paint my way out of a wet paper bag. Neither can Kuma.” He served more slices to various people, then saw that everyone but himself, his siblings, and Reborn were taken care of. He cut two more slices and offered one to Reborn, along with a fork.

“I don’t suppose you’re hiding any coffee around here somewhere,” Reborn said.

“Sure.”

A bit later it was time for the presents, so he pulled Lambo aside to whisper some instructions. “Try to keep any cards or notes with the present, all right? I’ll help you write thank you notes later on.”

Lambo nodded. “O~kay!”

One of his gifts, from Gokudera, of all people, was a necklace with a pendant of stylized silver and copper bull horns inlaid with what might have been emerald. Lambo squealed happily on seeing it and hopped over to hug Gokudera’s leg in thanks, which caused the teen to smile nervously. Harry had every intention of writing his own thank you note for such a lovely gift.

All in all, it was a nice little party, but more importantly, the guest of honor enjoyed himself.

They were at the training field when Reborn said, “Tsuna is incredibly frustrating.”

Harry could not decide if Reborn was telling him as a subtle nudge toward forming his own famiglia and becoming a second tutor for Tsuna, or because the man actually trusted him. Perhaps it was both. “What’s he done this time?” he asked, casting a look at the obstacle course where Lambo continued to improve his acrobatics, reaction time, and quick thinking.

“He still fights almost every step of the way. No matter how many times I get him to prove that he can do it he resists. Even Dino wasn’t this much trouble, and he didn’t want to do it at first, either. Did you resist?”

He sighed. He knew Reborn was not a stupid man, so him having put together the clues was not outside reason. “To some extent, yes. There was a lot of ‘why me?’ and misplaced guilt. Anger at the people who enabled it to happen by inaction, or failed to help, expecting a child to take care of things. The users, the gold diggers, the people who got off on slander and libel. The people who had years of expectations built up on a framework of speculation and lies, all before I even knew who the hell I was. The whole place is fucked up. There were so many times when I wanted to just run away, because most of them didn’t seem worth saving. Do you remember your life from before?”

Reborn did not pretend to misunderstand. “Not really. But I had certain aspects of that erased, more or less, on purpose. I’ve been like this for over a decade.”

“I suppose that’s one way to handle it,” he said, deciding to try to do magic without benefit of a wand. If they could use Dying Will Flames without such a crutch, why not spells? To that end he reached down to pluck some blades of grass and line them up on the table they were sitting at and attempt to transfigure them.

“Is Lambo like you?”

He considered the possible meaning of that question as he worked, then said, “I don’t know yet. I haven’t bothered trying to test it. I don’t care if he is or not, but if he is, it may or may not make things a little awkward when he gets older.”

“Because you get invited to a school.”

“Right. But for now, while it’s possible, he’s too young for that to be a concern. If he shows signs aside from being able to use that onesie tail like it was real, well, I’ll step up the meditation a bit. So many bizarre things happen around here already that I don’t expect it’d get much noticed anyway. And if it did, the other government here would very likely step in to smooth things over.”

“Which reminds me,” Reborn said, eyeing him curiously. “How did you get around that situation when Lambo was in danger? I know there was a squad of men after him.”

Harry frowned when he accidentally levitated the grass instead of using transformative magic. “Ano, how to say this without actually saying it? We encouraged those men to forget the last few minutes and hightailed it out of there. Didn’t see the point in sticking around to fight when we had three children who needed protection. I’m sure I-Pin-chan and Lambo could have managed something, because I know that, if nothing else, I-Pin-chan has training in martial arts, but I don’t believe in having children fight on that level if it can be avoided.”

“You teleported away.”

“That isn’t what we call it, but essentially.” He felt a pulse of magic leave his fingers and looked. A blade of grass had contorted itself into a paperclip shape. “Tch.”

Lambo came tumbling over, followed by Neville and Luna, so Harry left off and broke out the picnic basket while Luna used a wet wipe on Lambo to neaten him up a bit first before they ate.

Harry held a non-verbal conversation with his siblings, then turned to Reborn. “For whatever insane reason, we actually trust you, so if you will swear on your honor to keep things to yourself, we’ll show you more. I want my adorable chibi here to get some more experience with that attack of his, and for that, well. . . .”

Reborn gave him an unfathomable look, then nodded sharply. “On my honor.”

Harry smiled after a moment, then said, “Lambo, after we eat, would you like to try headbutting some rats?”

Lambo squealed and nodded vigorously, stuffing a portion of sushi in his mouth.

“All right. Since it’s not weepy out today we’ll just have to improvise on getting you some lightning to work with.”

To that end, after they had finished eating and a lightning rod had been created, Harry produced his wand. “Fulgur!” he said with quiet intensity.

An arc of lightning streaked down from an otherwise clear sky and hit the rod. Lambo clapped excitedly at the display.

“Ano, here’s some wire that will dissolve if too much power goes through it,” Luna said. “We already know you two can handle strikes, but these aren’t entirely natural ones, so. . . .”

Harry nodded and watched as she set things up, then took off his shoes and stood on the wire. “Fulgur.” He only barely kept a hold on his wand when the electricity flooded into him, but even so, he handled it better than the previous time. “Not any worse than before,” he said, “not from what I can tell. It should be safe enough for Lambo to power up those horns this way for now.”

“Lambo-san wants to try!” Lambo hopped up and down in excitement.

He scooped his son up to rub noses. “You will tell me if it hurts.”

“Lambo-san promises!”

“Okay.” He set Lambo down and stepped back. Once his son was in place he cast again. Lightning arced down and hit the rod again, then traveled along the wire to Lambo, whose horns started crackling with electricity. Lambo giggled madly. “It tickles.”

Luna snorted in amusement and plucked some grass, then transfigured a blade into a rat and enlarged it. Lambo growled and hunched over, then charged. The second his horns touched the creature it went flying, twitching, and reverted to a burnt-looking blade of grass. “Kufufufu!”

“A portable generator might not be a bad idea,” Reborn suggested from his perch. “It would be noisy and smelly, but it could, in theory, provide a constantly charged rod for Lambo to leech off of during practice.”

“Not a bad idea,” Neville said. “Though if Lambo’s flames eventually allow for him to call lightning from the sky himself, that would be good, too.”

“I know of one person in the past who could,” Reborn said, “so it’s entirely possible.”

Harry pulled his phone out of the bag he had hung off one of the chairs and woke it up so he could check the weather conditions in the area and its surrounds. A minute later he put it to sleep and back in the bag. “Lambo,” he said, “I want you to try something for me.”

Lambo tumbled over and sat in front of him.

“Concentrate, kind of like when you’re meditating, and try to see if you can feel any lightning out there.”

Five minutes later Lambo opened his eyes and growled in frustration. He jabbed a finger west. “Maybe?”

“Not bad, chibi. Not bad at all. We can add that to your usual training. If you can learn to sense it, maybe you can learn to call it, too. But for now let’s get back to working on your aim.”

Lambo cheered up.

“I wonder. . . .”

He looked over at his sister, who had a thoughtful expression as she created another enlarged rat.

“Maybe some gloves? When lightning hits you, Hari, it just grounds, because there’s nothing to hold it. And as cute as I think you’d look with a matching set of horns. . . .”

Reborn snorted.

“Fulgur.”

Lambo giggled and charged the newest rat, missing. He growled and darted off for another try.

“Maybe a cow-print shirt or tie. . . .”

Harry rolled his eyes. “A tie, maybe, but it doesn’t exactly suit me.”

“Your alternate form isn’t a bull?” Reborn asked.

“Hardly.”

Reborn eyed him thoughtfully. “Well, let’s see. Your name means needle and that immediately brings certain creatures to mind. I’m going to pass on the idea of a spiny sea urchin because those aren’t mammals, but—another name for those is sea hedgehog. Porcupine, hedgehog, echidna. All prickly, defensive. . . . I think you’re a hedgehog.”

Harry frowned at him.

“Your brother is a bear. Your sister, though. . . .”

Luna giggled.

Lambo tumbled back for a recharge and another enlarged rat.

Reborn’s chameleon morphed into a magnifying glass, which he used to view Luna as she set Lambo up again. He hummed thoughtfully. “Some kind of rabbit.”

Luna’s eyes went wide; then she pouted and stamped her foot. “How dare you guess right?”

“I’m just that good,” he said smugly.

Harry gave Reborn a sidelong look, then turned his attention back to trying to transfigure things without using his wand.


	4. 04

## 04

“Okay, we’re in, we’ve formed, whatever.”

Reborn nodded. “Nono has already approved the alliance.” Then he smiled, showing entirely too many teeth for someone stuck in a five year old body. “And this means you can help me torture Dame-Tsuna.”

They shared a maniacal laugh together, then Harry got serious. “I was thinking two hours, every weekday afternoon, after school lets out. It’s not like Tsuna-kun has any club activities. Then he can go home for dinner, do his school work, and still have the weekends for leisure activities.”

“Sounds good.”

Tsuna was dragged off without comment on Monday afternoon. He had just set his bag down in his bedroom when Harry came up behind him and apparated them to the training field, where Reborn was already waiting.

Tsuna freaked out, of course.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” Harry said dismissively.

Lambo tumbled over. “Kufufufu. Lambo-san thinks it’s fun to do that.”

Tsuna looked up from where he was hunched over on his knees and gave Lambo a flat look.

“Okay, Tsuna-kun,” Harry said briskly. “Reborn and I have teamed up to train the hell out of you. Or do I mean to say make your training a living hell? Let me give you an example of the kind of thing you can look forward to.” He nodded to Lambo and his little man scurried into position.

Luna had previously brought in caged, enlarged rats for Harry to release as necessary, so that part was handled, and he had baked extra so that Neville and Luna would not need to worry about that at the shop. He non-verbally cast and lightning arced down to hit Lambo directly, who giggled madly, then charged off after a rat Harry released.

Tsuna’s hands flew up to his mouth in panic. The next thing he knew he was seated behind a student desk and Harry was in front of him. “Now, we’re going to start with a word association game. You know what that is?”

Tsuna relaxed a bit and nodded.

“Good. Now: sky.”

“Blue.”

“Rain.”

“Wet.”

“Swimming.”

“Torture.”

Harry stopped and arched a brow. “Interesting answer. Love.”

“Kyoko-chan,” Tsuna said and blushed furiously.

His brow went up again. “Seriously? Love brings to mind your crush? You want to build a romantic relationship with someone based on lies? Oh, I see, you want to be like your father.”

Tsuna flailed his hands around. “I do not!”

“Really,” he said flatly. “So you plan to tell Kyoko-chan everything so that she can come to some kind of an informed decision about whether or not she wants to be involved with you?”

“I can’t tell her any of it,” Tsuna protested. “And besides, I don’t want to be in the mafia!”

“Next word: mafia.”

There was silence, so Harry leaned forward to poke Tsuna in the forehead. “Well? How can you say you don’t want anything to do with the mafia if you don’t even know what it really is, or how it makes you feel? You’re being lazy.”

Lambo squealed as he connected with a rat and vanquished it. Harry absently called down the lightning again and released another rat.

“What is Lambo-kun doing?”

“Practicing his aim,” Harry replied, “and don’t change the subject. You didn’t listen to a thing Reborn said about the origins of the Vongola, did you?”

Tsuna averted his gaze.

“Lazy. Stubborn. Obstructionist.” He shook his head. “I could have sworn you Japanese were raised to honor your family. Sounds to me like you use Nana-san as a combination restaurant, cleaner, and laundry service. You didn’t even think to get her a gift for that celebration.”

“I gave her flowers!” Tsuna protested.

“That Reborn slipped to you from behind when you failed to manage even that courtesy and show of appreciation. What exactly do you expect to get out of life, Tsuna? Are you going to live forever with Nana-san because you’re too lazy to bother to study and do well in school, and therefore won’t be able to get a decent job? Do you plan to work at some cheap fast-food place or as a janitor somewhere because you have no skills, no drive, no knowledge, and no motivation? Do you really think someone like Kyoko-chan would look at you twice in the long run if you continue to insist on purposely being a loser?”

Tsuna’s eyes went all watery.

“You think I’m being cruel,” he said. “I didn’t have your advantages. I had relatives who used me as a slave in their house, other people who used me to further their own aims because they were too lazy to do it themselves, and a psychotic serial killer after me almost before I was even born. I had to rely on myself from a very young age because nobody else was going to do it for me. I look at you, how you treat your mother, how you keep secretly expecting your friends to come to your rescue, how you won’t step up to the plate, on your own, without Reborn having to shoot you with a Dying Will Bullet—what does that make you? And what do you plan to do about it? Run laps around the clearing while you think.”

Tsuna eased out of the chair and took off, slowly at first, but settled into a halfway decent pace.

Reborn let out a quiet whistle. “Well.”

Harry ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I think I might have some unresolved issues lurking.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“Hadn’t planned to,” he said, plucking some grass and trying again to cast spells without using his wand. He just had to figure out how to translate the way he used his flames to using magic. Stinging hexes went at Tsuna occasionally; Harry didn’t punish him for slowing down to a walk so long as he got faster again in a reasonable amount of time, but he did when the boy stopped moving entirely.

After an hour had gone by he called everyone in over and passed out snacks and bottled juice.

“You’re getting much better, chibi,” he said to Lambo, picking him up briefly to rub noses. “I’m proud of you for working so hard. After this I want you to practice sensing storm activity again, okay?”

“O~kay!”

He set his son down with a fond smile. “Tsuna, after we’re done eating I want you to meditate. I’ll be giving you a candle to focus on. That flame is where all your stray thoughts will go, to be burned away. You can meditate while you’re doing laps, but you need to build up stamina first, and overworking your muscles will just induce strain and ultimately make things take longer.”

Tsuna nodded without comment. He ended up spending the remainder of their time there doing that, and when it was time to go he took Lambo home first, then returned to apparate Reborn and Tsuna to a spot in an alley near the Sawada house that he had emplaced protections around. Tsuna walked away without a word.

“Hopefully after a week of being run ragged every day he’ll start to adjust. It doesn’t matter if he ends up hating me so long as he finally figures a few important things out, like the fact that it’s either buckle down and deal with it, or be on the run for the remainder of his short life.”

“We can only hope,” Reborn said. He pecked Harry on the cheek and hopped onto the wall, then strolled away.

‘Eh?’ His brain stuttered a few times before he snapped out of it and apparated home. He did not say a word about what had just happened, though Luna was giving him a speculative look.

The next afternoon he kidnapped Tsuna again and apparated him to the training field where Reborn and Lambo waited. “Something a little different today, Lambo,” he said, indicating the targets. “If you see a red light that means to stop and come back to me. I want you to work on your aim with your grenades for right now.”

Lambo struck a pose and darted off. They heard an explosion shortly thereafter, followed by giggling.

“Different muscles today, Tsuna, but you’ll start with five laps around this half of the field before we get to the other exercises.” He pointed and Tsuna took off at a jog, looking incredibly unhappy.

“Oo, the silent treatment,” he muttered.

“He’s been pretty quiet,” Reborn said. “I fully expect him to try to avoid you tomorrow.”

Harry looked over and grinned. “I’m counting on it. And then I pop up behind him anyway and haul him here, and every time he tries to ditch training.” He set to work on attempting wandless magic while keeping an eye on the two, then got up when Tsuna had finished five laps and walked back slowly.

“Okay. Ever seen one of these before?” he asked, indicating a monkey bar set. When Tsuna nodded he continued, “From one end to the other, just like you might have done when you were a lot younger. If you fall you start again. Once you manage to get all the way across, run a lap, then start the cycle over again. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Tsuna got started so he checked on Lambo again. The spell-work Luna had set up showed that Lambo was getting more accurate as he kept throwing. He sent up the signal and Lambo scampered over. “Very good, chibi. You’re getting better at aiming those. Maybe some day we can try something weird like senbon. Spend some time doing storm sensing, and then you can meditate for a bit.”

“Hai!”

“I’ll speak with Tsuki tonight about ideas,” he told Reborn. “We never did a lot of physical training as a population, so we kind of made shit up on our own once we realized how important physical conditioning was. How was Tsuna about doing homework last night?”

“Sulky, but he did it. I checked over his work and gave him nudges and hints when something was wrong, to get him to reason it out on his own.”

“You are his official tutor. Do I have your permission to place a tracker on Tsuna?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Tsuna looked like he was about to keel over so Harry called to him, “Walk another lap to cool down a little, then we’ll move on to something else.” When Tsuna’s back was turned he placed the tracker. “What I wouldn’t give for the Room of Requirement right now,” he said a minute later.

Reborn looked at him curiously.

“Well, you walked past a section of the wall three times while concentrating on what you wanted. A door would appear into a room or space with your requirements. But that castle is over a thousand years old and the people who did the enchanting. . . .” He shook his head.

“Like the holodeck in Star Trek?”

“I’ve never seen Star Trek,” he said just as Tsuna walked up.

Reborn face-palmed. “You’ve led such a deprived life, Hari.”

“I’m sure you can teach me a thing or two, little man. Tsuna, good work so far. I want you to meditate again. This time, while you’re trying, I want you to concentrate on how Dying Will Flames make you feel, where you think they come from inside you, what you think powers them aside from being in fear for your life, that sort of thing. Okay?”

Tsuna’s brow crinkled, but he nodded, so Harry set him up with a candle.

He sat back down and stared at his grass collection. “Ugh. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get a handle on this, but I’m going to keep trying. Maybe I should wear cow prints. Tsuki thinks I’m bull-headed when I get my mind set on something.”

Reborn snickered and sipped his drink. “Well, how much time have you spent meditating on your other power, how it feels as it moves through you?”

Harry looked at him. “Tch. I’m an idiot, aren’t I. Okay, I’ll try that tonight after Lambo goes to bed. So instead, I’m going to do some regular practice.” He got up and brushed off the seat of his jeans, then opened a chest they kept there. From inside he pulled out a series of cubes of varying materials, from foam to lead, and lined them up on the grass. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Tsuna watching instead of doing as he was told, but he allowed it for the time being.

He took a breath and lifted the first one with his Earth Flames, then tried to compress it into nothingness as quickly as possible. By the time he worked his way up to the lead cube he was sweating heavily. That one sapped his strength, and he was glad to sit back down next to Reborn and break out the snacks.

He sent gentle nudging spells at his pupils to get them to “wake up” and join in. “That was not easy,” he said, handing out wet wipes, then snack boxes and drinks. “And I’m still too slow at it for the denser materials. I guess I could stick with lighter density at first and work on speed, and once I have that down, move up a notch.”

Reborn nodded. “Sounds reasonable. You were struggling at the end.”

“Yeah. Okay. And if I can get that down. . . .” He grinned.

“Reverse it?” Reborn hazarded to guess.

“Exactly. How did your meditation go, chibi?” he asked Lambo.

“Lambo-san did good! And Lambo-san found a storm over that way.” Lambo jabbed a finger north.

“Okay. After we finish our snack, I’ll put the party course in place and you can work on your balance. Sound good?”

Lambo giggled. “Lambo-san will win next year.”

“We’ll see. Maybe next year Kuma will build us a bigger course and I’ll run it with you. Maybe I’ll win.”

Lambo looked torn, then shook his head. “Otosan has longer legs than Lambo-san. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“Oo, good reasoning, chibi. How was your day with Tsuki?”

“Tsuki-oba started teaching Lambo-san history and maths and English.”

“English will be more than a little confusing, but I have faith in you. Is she telling you history as stories?”

Lambo nodded and devoured another berry and grape tart. “Not as good as Otosan’s bedtime stories, but still interesting for Lambo-san.”

Harry chuckled. “I’m flattered.” He reached out to tweak Lambo’s nose and got a giggle for it, then started peeling an apple for himself. “I guess if I got both sides down, with excellent speed, I could then work in flying at the same time,” he said thoughtfully. “I mean, I’m not looking to get into any fights, but I hate the idea of not knowing my limits and what I’m capable of.”

“Well, despite you being able to withstand lightning strikes,” Reborn said, “I sincerely doubt you’d have Lightning Flames on top of anything else.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so, either, but Tsuki’s gloves idea might be useful for Lambo.”

Tsuna opened his mouth to say something, seemed to remember he was sulking, and went back to eating.

“Do you lot give names to this sort of thing?”

Reborn nodded. “Many do. Many also seem to think it’s a brilliant idea to yell out a technique name for some reason.”

Harry snickered. “Yeah, so, black hole and white hole, even if those aren’t truly indicative of what’s going on.”

Reborn shrugged. “Good enough, really.”

He ate a few slices of apple while pondering the possibilities.

“Actually,” Reborn said, “that isn’t such a bad name or concept. We both know what a black hole does and the idea behind how they function. I don’t see why you can’t work with that.”

“Ano, I think I’m going to have to brush up on science, then,” he said slowly. “I need a better understanding of the phenomenon so I can visualize what’s happening.”

“If you want I’ll bring some appropriate books for next time,” Reborn offered.

Harry gave him a grateful smile, knowing full well that Reborn would keep in mind his presumed general lack of sciences. “I would really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. For now keep in mind that super compression of mass can result in gravitational collapse, leading to a black hole.”

He blinked and sliced off more apple to eat. If he understood that correctly, that meant he could create, possibly, micro-black holes if he kept compressing something past the point he normally stopped, which would then cause havoc on its surroundings, but still be under his control, because he could presumably reverse the gravitational forces to eradicate it. He smiled slowly and nodded.

“Lambo-san is done!”

He blinked and looked up. “Hm? Oh, okay.” He set his apple and knife down on a napkin and snatched Lambo up long enough to rub noses with him, just to hear that cute giggle. “Let me get the course out for you, chibi.”

A few minutes later Lambo was happily running the gauntlet, so he turned back to Tsuna. “I suggest, when you go to bed each night, spend some time before falling asleep thinking about what you were meditating on earlier. For the rest of our time here today, one walking lap to warm up again a little, a few jogging, and then back to the cycle of the monkey bars and laps. It’ll build on both stamina and strength.”

Tsuna nodded and got up, so Harry picked up his knife and apple again. “What you said makes a lot of sense in my head. I’m only compressing stuff to the point where it’s negligible. It never occurred to me to keep going.”

“How did you even get the idea to do it in the first place?”

“I was attacked in a shopping area. It just happened. The idiot was a remnant of that nutjob, so I didn’t exactly feel bad about having accidentally killed him. It was after that point that things continued to happen, though not that specifically again.”

“So a spontaneous manifestation during a life-threatening situation.” Reborn nodded a few times.

Tsuna walked away again after being apparated to the alley, and Reborn gave him another peck on the cheek. He apparated home once more bemused, and spent a good part of his time before sleeping meditating on his magical core and how it felt when he cast spells with his wand.

The next day Tsuna indeed tried to duck training. Instead of going home he had retreated to one of the parks in town. Harry was pleased that no one in particular happened to be around, as it was not an especially popular park. After refreshing the tracking spell he sneaked up behind the boy and apparated him to the training field.

For snack time he handed out boxes with things specifically chosen for each person, but mainly because he wanted to see Reborn’s reaction to being given caramel-drizzled coffee and chocolate layer cake. Reborn took a bite, paused mid-chew, and flicked his gaze Harry’s way before resuming his snack. For himself he brought some raspberry-almond pear tartlets. The books Reborn had brought were packed away for later reading. He did not want to experiment with something like an actual black hole, microscopic or not, with children around, so that would have to wait until the weekend.

“I wonder if it’s possible to use electrically charged particles in the air as a means of conveyance,” he mused out loud.

Reborn paused mid-chew again and looked at him, then at Lambo. After he swallowed he said, “I’m not seeing it.”

“Hm. It was just a thought. Now that I think about it, I don’t see it, either.” He looked up and frowned. “Looks like we’re ending early today. That does not look friendly.” A storm was rolling in fast and there was no point in having Tsuna plod along while soaking wet. Not yet, anyway.

“Lambo-san likes to play in storms,” Lambo said sadly.

“I know, chibi. Another time.”

As soon as they were done eating he took Lambo home, then returned for the other two and apparated them to the alley. Tsuna stormed off—Harry giggled internally over the mental description his mind had provided—and he prepared to leave. Reborn stayed on his shoulder, though, confusing him. He shrugged his other shoulder and apparated again, taking Reborn with him.

A quick spell told him Lambo was upstairs in his bathroom, probably washing up. Harry continued on into the kitchen and fetched out the bento boxes so they could be washed and placed them by the sink, and the bag was pushed up against a wall and out of the way. He wandered back out into the living room and dropped onto the loveseat. “I wonder how dangerous it’s going to be for me to try creating an actual black hole.”

Reborn took the other cushion. “I’m sure you’ve already concluded that you’ll need to work on that separately.”

“Yeah.” ‘I may have to break out a time turner,’ he thought, ‘so that either or both Kuma and Tsuki can participate. This is messing up our normal practices.’ “It seems reasonable to me that I can stop something before it goes too crazy by just reversing the compression, but I’d rather not experiment around children.”

As if summoned by the word, Lambo tumbled down the stairs and waved a bucket of modeling clay around. Harry smiled and nodded, so Lambo scampered over to the table and took a seat. Harry slid off the loveseat to join him. “What shall we make today?”

“Fish!”

“You’re thinking with your stomach again,” he said with a fond smile, “but okay.” They both dug out some clay and got to work. “I wonder if I can imagine gravity as—” He huffed.

“You can’t see the wind itself, but you can feel it and see its effects,” Reborn said.

He nodded. “Maybe set up something that emits smoke? So I can see how the forces warp things?”

Reborn hopped off the loveseat and took a place at the table, also digging out some clay. “Not unreasonable.” Leon watched from the brim of Reborn’s hat, blinking his eyes curiously at the proceedings. “Probably a good visual tool.”

“I take it you’ve never worked directly with an Earth user,” he said, glancing over.

Reborn shook his head. “Only heard about them. You have a very subtle aura that seems in inverse proportion to the level of power being displayed.”

He turned that over in his mind, then remembered what Tsuna had looked like after being shot. “Do you think that’s because I’m an Earth, or because I have conscious control over it?”

“I’m not actually sure, but probably a little of both.”

“What are you?”

“Sun. I can improve efficiency, essentially.”

Harry frowned. “So, like, making muscles work better, or maybe someone’s healing factor?”

“Along those lines, yes.”

“You probably have a quiet aura, too, then,” he guessed.

Reborn looked up and smiled. “Your chibi will have a louder one. His role is to draw damage away from his team to himself, like a lightning rod, and part of his power is largely defensive. With training he will be able to harden or increase the firmness of things, project a solid barrier of flames, or even use them offensively like blades or arcs of lightning. It also comes out in his personality.”

Harry took a bead of clay and transfigured it into a combination stylus and “blade” as he ran the concept through his mind, and tried to apply it to himself and his siblings. Much as he sometimes hated it, it kind of made sense that he drew people in, good and bad, like a gravitational force. Even his ability with plants sort of made sense in that light. Luna baffled people regularly and eroded set ways of thinking at times. Neville was quiet and steady and supportive. Lambo, on the other hand, was frequently loud and attention-getting.

“May Lambo-san have one of those, too?”

He smiled and transfigured another bead of clay, that time making the stylus much smaller, and offered it to his son. “It will only last a few hours, but that’s long enough. If you like using it enough I can buy some real ones later on.”

“Thank you, Oto~san.”

“You’re welcome, Lambo.”

He neatened up the edges of the fish he was working on and started adding details. “So that would be why Gokudera-kun is all sound and fury?”

Reborn nodded. “There are times when someone has an inverse personality, or they express common characteristics differently. Ryohei is ‘extreme’ in everything he does, and he’s very vocal about it.”

“Whereas you’re much quieter. You’re also older, and more confident and mature in your abilities.”

“Yes. I have come to the conclusion that you can handle lightning strikes because you act as a ground, as Earth.”

“That . . . makes sense,” he replied. “You are way too good at this,” he added, looking at Reborn’s fish with some envy.

“I’m good at a lot of things,” Reborn said smugly, then held up his creation. It was a basic fish shape, but the interior was a lacework of clay.

“Lambo-san is impressed!” Lambo said with awe. “Will Otosan be able to display it at Kidorui?”

Harry arched a brow at Reborn and got a nod. “Maybe I’ll get a shadowbox frame and put one fish from each of us in it, to hang on the wall. Or one with glass on both sides so we could hang it in the window.”

Lambo looked down at his fish and frowned cutely. “Lambo-san will try harder to make a pretty fish.”

“Don’t worry too much, chibi. I’ll probably have the saddest looking fish for the display,” he said.

“What about Tsuki-oba and Kuma-oji?”

“Tsuki’s will be marvelous, I expect. Kuma isn’t much better at this than I am. But that’s okay, so long as we have fun.”

Lambo nodded sharply and started a new fish.

Before Reborn took his leave he pecked Harry on the lips.

‘I feel like a pedophile.’

“You’re not a pedophile,” Reborn said, then left.

Harry stared after him for a minute, then closed the door and returned to the living room so he could move Reborn’s fish to a safe place for the time being. Lambo still wasn’t satisfied with his efforts, but they could make more attempts later, with Neville and Luna.

The next day Tsuna tried hiding out on the school roof. There were others around, so Harry had to be careful in how he handled things. That being the case, he sent a patronus to Luna to grab a time turner and turn back an hour so she could help. The second his hedgehog was away she popped up behind him, startling him.

“What’s the situation?” she said.

“I need some kind of illusion to get them to think Tsuna left and to cover the sound of apparation, so I can kidnap him again.”

She nodded. “No problem.”

Two minutes later he had successfully kidnapped Tsuna again and set him to work. Luna had written up a schedule of activities for him so he’d created a free-standing board with the list on it for Tsuna to refer to. Lambo had the day off to go play with his friends, so Harry was able to concentrate more on compression speed.

Reborn was using his Sun Flames to quietly augment Tsuna whenever he flagged, just enough to give him a second wind and get him moving again. Harry was fairly sure Reborn had given him a boost once or twice, too.

“Once you get a good speed I can take you to the Mountain of Death,” Reborn offered.

Harry blinked at him uncomprehendingly.

“Didn’t I mention? It’s a very large training ground with plenty of dangerous creatures to play with.”

“That sounds like fun,” he replied, ignoring when Tsuna gaped at him. “All the practice in the world means nothing if you can’t use it under pressure, and having something like a two hundred pound tiger bearing down on you is plenty of motivation.”

“Precisely.”

He hummed. “All the more incentive for me to work harder!” he said happily.

“How’s your stamina?” Reborn asked.

“Probably not even close to good enough,” he admitted. “I’ve let that slide a bit since moving to Japan. Something I need to correct, obviously.”

“Well, there’s your reward. Get good enough and we can go have some fun sometime.”

“Deal.”

On Friday Tsuna tried to ditch by loitering in a grocery store. Luna was called in again to assist, and Tsuna was kidnapped. Harry continued to not make any references to the behavior, but he would if Tsuna started showing real cleverness in his attempts.

That day Harry actually did a fair amount of jogging himself before settling in to work on his compression speed, surprising a still silent and sulky Tsuna. The boy was paying attention, though, when Harry and Reborn would talk, throw theories back and forth, and trade ideas.

At the end of the session, before Tsuna could take off, he said, “Good work today. In case Reborn didn’t mention it you have the weekend off. Sleep in, have fun with your friends, whatever.”

Tsuna stared at him, blinked, and walked away. Reborn chuckled. “I think he’s warming up to you,” he said, pecked Harry on the lips, and strolled off along the top of the wall.

That weekend the siblings overhauled the training field. A running track was created around the perimeter, for one. Half the space was given over to a proper obstacle and balance course, though it did feature rune-powered effects and traps. A quarter of the space was set aside for meditation, eating, and other less active pursuits, and included a roofed structure similar to the one Neville had originally temporarily grown, while the remainder was for everything else.

Tsuna gaped a little on seeing the obstacle course.

“Five laps, and then you get to have fun on this baby,” Harry instructed. “Don’t even bother to worry about overall speed too much yet. Work on reaction time, puzzle solving, flexibility, and stamina. Later on it can be something of a game to see how fast you can get through.” When Tsuna didn’t move he gave him a nudge, then joined him in running around the track.

Lambo skittered along with them and managed two laps before he keeled over. Luna, who was there on turned time, picked him up and got him a sports drink to help perk him up, then began helping him with his electric horns attack.

Harry went ten laps and was feeling it once he coasted into a cool-down walk. Reborn appeared to be napping, but he knew better than to take that as fact. He switched to working on cubes of the same density, but made of different materials.

Tsuna stumbled out of the end of the course an hour later looking like death warmed over, so Harry called for the usual break and handed out refreshments.

Reborn set aside his book on nuclear physics to partake. “I think in a few days you could move up a density.”

Harry nodded. “I think so, too. How about you, Lambo?”

“Lambo-san’s aim is getting better.”

“Actually, I think he’s managing to extend the electricity outward from his horns,” Luna said.

His brows went up in surprise. “Good job, chibi. Are you going to keep jogging with me?”

Lambo nodded. “Lambo-san can do it!”

Luna sighed. “I guess that means Kuma and I should start in again.”

“You and Lambo can always have a jog during your morning breaks,” Harry pointed out. “Maybe I-Pin-chan will join in. She’s pretty active as it is, and she joins you two often enough for lessons.”

“Very true. I will ask her.” She cast a look at Lambo. “Though I think the hardest part would be keeping them at a steady pace instead of chasing each other.” She merely giggled when Lambo stuck his tongue out at her. “I’ve designed a pair of gloves. I just have to make them.”

“You should put claws on them,” Harry said. “That’d be really cool.”

“Hari! He’s an adorable little cow, not a raging bull with the werewolf equivalent of mad cow disease!”

“Kufufufu.” Lambo held up his hands and made mock claws.

“On second thought. . . .”

Tsuna continued to try to ditch, getting more inventive as time went by, and Harry worked on his spell-based illusions so he did not have to call on one of his siblings to assist. After all, they were alternating time turner use to help and supervise during Tsuna’s sessions so that Lambo was not being neglected, and it was better not to add more stress on top of that.

When Friday evening rolled around and Tsuna had headed off, Reborn accompanied him home. On the way he asked, “Are you able to tune into when someone like Tsuna might be in danger?”

“Ano, unknown. But a tracer can tell me where he is at all times. Why?”

“Because I’d like to have some fun this weekend, with you.”

Harry’s brain went on pause for a few moments, trying to figure out how to interpret that statement. “Is that a visiting the Mountain of Death kind of fun, or a dinner and a movie kind of fun?”

“Why not both?”

“I suppose we could have a picnic while surrounded by ravenous carnivores. Are there any monster spiders in there?”

Reborn gave him a funny look and Harry laughed. “I’ll show you,” he promised. “Come by after Tsuna is off homework duty.”

Later that evening he got out a pensieve and dropped a few memory copies into it. When Reborn arrived he brought him upstairs to his room, ignoring the look he got for it, and pointed at the pensieve. “Touch your finger to that silvery liquid when I do. It’s quite the experience.”

The first memory queued up landed them in the Forbidden Forest, not far outside Aragog’s lair, back during a time when Ron had still been a halfway decent friend. Reborn rode on his shoulder as he followed his younger self. “It’s all just a memory,” he said, “so if your reflexes kick in and you try to shoot something, nothing will actually happen or change. We can’t affect anything.”

Reborn went still on his shoulder at the sight of so many damn spiders, and the hand on the back of Harry’s neck tightened when Aragog rose up into view. The memory changed after Arthur’s Anglia rescued the two boys, to the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, so that Reborn could see a dragon in action.

Once ejected from the pensieve Reborn sat on the bed and tilted his head. “That was extremely interesting. And no, there are no monster spiders there. What happened to the red-head?”

He rolled his eyes and retrieved the memories. “We stopped being friends after he spurned me over that tournament. I could no longer find it in me to overlook or forgive the laziness, the jealousy, the way he ran others down all the time. . . . He was actually pretty spiteful and racist, but it took me some time to really see that.”

“And good memories?”

He hummed thoughtfully. “That’s a lot harder. But I can think of a couple of things, though one is bittersweet.” He pulled two memory copies and added them to the pensieve, then entered with Reborn.

The first was his flight on Buckbeak, starting from when Hagrid hoisted him into place and ending when they landed. The second was his first visit to the Mirror of Erised. Back in the room he said, “I was given a photograph album at the end of my first year with pictures of my parents, which was nice. But that was the first time I’d ever seen them.”

Reborn nodded, looking as solemn as his five year old form could manage.

“Unfortunately, most good memories are fleeting in a place like that,” he said, retrieving the copies and putting the pensieve away. “We’ve been having a lot more fun since we moved.”

“A picnic sounds fine, maybe a side of fighting, and then something else in the evening.”

“All right. Any preferences on the food?” he asked as they headed downstairs.

“Well. . . .”

They took a bus to a stop not far from the mountain and walked the rest of the way. Well, Harry walked; Reborn rode on his shoulder.

“Past this point it gets dangerous,” Reborn said, looking up the trail leading into a forest. “But anything here you can compress. There’s a more than healthy amount of wildlife, so a few beasts going missing won’t really matter.”

It really was not so bad in there. The trail was a bit steep, but the walk was pleasant. He only had to cause a few animals that refused to back down to compress into nothingness on their way to a picnic spot, which turned out to be near the base of a waterfall. “This is nice,” he said, looking around admiringly.

Reborn pointed to the nearby cliff. “I used that for stamina training for Tsuna at one point.”

Harry tilted his head back so he could see the top. “Something tells me you needed to shoot him to get it to happen.”

“Of course.”

“It helps when you aren’t scared of heights, I suppose,” he said, pulling a blanket out of his extended pouch and flicking it into place, then getting out a basket and setting it down. Reborn had said “surprise me” when asked about the food, so Harry made another round of bite-sized foods. The basket was constructed so he could open it and pull up and out, rather like a fishing tackle box, to display everything inside.

They had a lovely talk about black holes while they ate, with Reborn trying different ways to explain things until Harry finally got a grasp on the concepts involved. After they ate, to test it, he focused on a nearby boulder and started compressing it, and kept compressing it, even after the point when he would normally stop.

There was a funny little pause for a split second, and then a ripple in the air, and small pebbles started to be drawn toward that point. It startled him badly enough that he lost his grip on things and it dissipated. “Damn it,” he muttered.

“But you did it,” Reborn pointed out. “You can refine it.”

“And if it’s too strong, protect myself and any allies against its pull.” He pressed his knuckles against his mouth and scanned the area, eventually spotting another boulder of decent size. He tried a second time, and did not get startled when the singularity began to suck in surrounding material. It got stronger and harder to hold onto, tiring him. He was sweating when he released it.

“Definitely not something I’ll practice around children,” he repeated.

Reborn started chuckling at that and shaking his head. “Good to have confirmation that you don’t see me as a child, this form to the contrary.”

Harry looked at him and smiled. “No, I don’t, though this flirtation we have going on is a bit odd because of it. Despite something of a rocky start, I quite like you.”

“Good. I quite like you. And if I ever get back to my adult form, I’ll show you.”

He felt his face heat up, and that embarrassed him even more, the tacit admission.

“Ah,” was all Reborn said. “I am a very good teacher.”

Harry kind of wanted to crawl into a hole and be alone with his embarrassment, but that was not possible, so he just cradled his face in his hands for a moment. After a sigh he straightened up and rolled his eyes. “I certainly hope so.”

That evening they watched a movie in Harry’s room so they could be as obnoxious as they wanted and not disturb others by catcalling on-screen idiocy and other such activities. Reborn gave him a kiss before he left, a slightly lingering one, and vanished like he had used a damn spell.

“I think I’m dating a mafioso,” he said a bit later. Luna grinned like a cat and Neville just shook his head.

The day that Tsuna actually cross-dressed in order to fool Harry was the day that Harry started laughing his ass off once he had transported the kid to the field. When he finally calmed down he looked at a red-faced Tsuna and chuckled a few times. “Okay. I really didn’t think you’d go that far, so I lost a bet. However, very good job at disguising yourself. You can have Friday off from training.”

Tsuna gaped at him. “It doesn’t matter what I try, does it. You’re still going to drag me here.”

Harry nodded. “Every damn time.”

“Why is Tsuna-kun wearing a dress?” Lambo asked, one finger up to his mouth.

Harry snatched his son up and said, “This is a secret, chibi. Tell no one what you saw. Understood?”

Lambo nodded. “Was Tsuna-kun trying to fool Otosan?”

“He was. I still found him, though.”

Lambo twisted in Harry’s arms and eyed Tsuna, then whispered a little too loudly, “Lambo-san thinks Tsuna-kun looks pretty in a dress.”

A very mortified Tsuna raced off to change.

When July was coming to a close they prepared for a joint birthday celebration. By that point Tsuna had developed a sense of humor, which was a bonus. He was also starting to work on accessing his Sky Flames without having to be shot first or take Dying Will pills. He was a lot more calm, less prone to freaking out, and carrying himself more confidently.

Harry was not about to cook for his own birthday so they all went out to a yakiniku restaurant that had a private room large enough for the group. They were adults, after all, and did not need a party like the one they had held for Lambo. It was just a simple dinner, albeit with a lot of people of varying ages.

Harry had a regular thing going with Reborn by that point, though it was hard to have a properly romantic relationship when one half of the pairing was stuck in a five year old body. Reborn would jokingly call him “jailbait” when no one else could hear, and still would not tell him his true age, though Harry knew he had to be at least thirty.

On the ninth of September Harry took the afternoon off from everything to go help Nana prepare a birthday celebration for Gokudera. Tsuna was a willing accomplice in keeping his friend occupied until it was time to spring a party on him.

When they did come in and Gokudera saw everything his eyes went doe-like in their wideness. “For me?” he asked softly.

Tsuna nodded and smiled at him, then gave him a little push. Harry got him a hair clip, as he had noticed the teen often clipped back the front part of his hair, or even made a short tail in the back. He made sure it was as lovely a gift as the pendant the boy had gotten for Lambo, using platinum, red jasper, and blood red ruby, and Luna had added runes to ensure he never lost it.

Harry was off in the corner with Reborn on his shoulder, having a conversation with Dino and eating, when someone new arrived. Gokudera took one look at her and went green, clutched his stomach, and fell to his knees.

The woman, who sported long, straight, light pink hair—Harry exchanged a disbelieving look with Luna—tilted her head in confusion, then swooped in to rest a hand on Gokudera’s shoulder. “Hayato.”

Gokudera choked out, “Why are you here?”

“That’s Bianchi,” Reborn said. “Gokudera’s older sister. She seems to think we’re in love.”

“Eh?”

“She and I, I mean,” Reborn clarified, and reassuringly stroked the back of Harry’s neck. “I’m still not sure where she got that idea.”

Dino smiled nervously. “She tried to kill me when Reborn was tutoring me, said that way he could spend more time with her. I’m surprised it’s taken her this long to show up. I figured she’d have tried to kill Tsuna long before now.”

Harry furrowed his brow. “How does that even work? And she looks younger than I am. Do you have many stalkers, Reborn?”

Reborn adopted a thoughtful look, then shook his head. “No, not really. But you know how it is.”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

After fussing over her brother for a bit, Bianchi spotted Reborn and moved so fast Harry almost didn’t see it happen. “Reborn!” she breathed, a faint blush staining her cheeks. She plucked him off Harry’s shoulder and cuddled him to her breasts.

He really wanted to make a snide comment about her being a very confused wet nurse, but kept his mouth shut.

Reborn extricated himself and returned to Harry’s shoulder with an annoyed little sound. “Bianchi.”

“Cavallone,” she said, giving Dino a nod. “And . . . who’s this?” she added, eyeing Harry.

“Hari.”

She stared, obviously expecting more, then shrugged. “Which one is your student, Reborn? I need to know so I can kill him.”

“He’s around here somewhere,” Reborn said vaguely. “You should be more concerned about your brother’s health.”

“I don’t understand why he keeps getting ill,” she said. “It’s some odd nervous quirk.”

Shamal spotted her and a minor chase ensued, which ended with an attack that left Harry wincing, and it had nothing to do with her kicking the man in a tender spot. “What the hell?”

“Ah. Her specialty: Poison Cooking,” Reborn said. “She can ruin any food in a second flat and everything she cooks is poisonous. She’s known as the Poison Scorpion.”

Harry’s eyes went wide and he quickly looked around. He spotted Luna and gestured her over, then whispered in her ear. “Get a good feel for the girl. We may need to keep her away from the bakery. I’ll explain later.”

Luna gave him a weird look, but nodded.

“Should I be expecting her to try to assassinate me, then?” he asked Reborn.

“Probably.”

“Right. Can’t be any worse than that terrorist, I suppose.”

Neville wandered over with a smile of greeting. “Dino, how are you? It’s been a while.”

Those two wandered off to talk so Harry raided the food supply for him and Reborn again, then reclaimed their corner. Tsuna came over. “I think he’s really touched. I wanted to say thank you for helping to put this together for him.”

Harry smiled. “You’re both welcome. And thank you for making sure we knew what to cook and keeping him busy while this got set up.”

Tsuna nodded and returned to his friends.

“So, are you going to clue me in to your birthday?”

“It’s the day before Tsuna’s actually, which is awkward. I’d rather not have any fuss made. How about just the two of us with some good food and a movie, something like that.”

“Sure. Or pizza.”

“Pizza is good,” Reborn said agreeably. “I hope you can make it, though, because I have yet to find decent pizza in this country.”

The Mori family received a very nice thank you note from Gokudera later and the boy was often spotted actually wearing the hair clip.

Bianchi and Nana showed up at the bakery on Monday. Harry did not bother to go out as usual, but he did listen in. Bianchi seemed surprised that Reborn’s “friend” ran a bakery, and that it was he who had shared the cooking load with Nana for her brother’s party.

He and Luna had made the necessary adjustments to the wards already. If Bianchi got it into her head to use her Poison Cooking attack she would get a very strong urge to leave Kidorui first. And, if she ended up looking crazy for going in and out of the building a few times in a row before giving up, that was her problem.

It took two weeks for Bianchi to realize that Reborn was seeing someone. He was out on his walk when she came roaring up to him, platters of food in both hands, and flung them his way. He dodged, she roared in anger and tried again. He opened up a micro-singularity and sucked them in, then lifted her and hung her off the nearest street lamp. He continued his walk after a cheerful wave.

“How do you stand it?” Tsuna asked later that day. “She keeps trying to kill me!”

Harry shrugged. “You get used to it after a while. Sort of. You’re in good company, though. She tried to kill me earlier today.”

“. . .Why?”

Harry goggled.

Lambo popped up a second later. “Did Lambo-san hear that right?”

His eyes went wide. He immediately scooped Lambo up and dangled the boy in front of him. “Leave her alone, chibi. I can take care of myself just fine.”

Lambo growled and started wriggling.

Harry pulled him in for a cuddle. “I mean it. Don’t pick fights. It’s not gentlemanly behavior.”

Lambo pouted. “May Lambo-san . . . put bugs in her food?”

“You are so adorable, chibi. I’m very glad you want to stand up for me. But no, leave her alone. Daddy will handle it.” He set Lambo back down after a peck on the cheek and told Tsuna, “Consider it a good way to learn how to dodge.”

Tsuna threw his hands up. “Everything is a lesson!”

“Well, yes. And speaking of lessons, let’s get running. C’mon, Lambo, time to strut your stuff.”

He regretted saying that when Lambo insisted on singing “I’m Too Sexy” during their opening laps, and wondered just exactly what Luna was teaching him.

Reborn’s birthday rolled around, but he decided to wait until Saturday for that, when the two of them usually had a day or evening to themselves. Instead, Harry helped Nana prepare for Tsuna’s party, with Reborn ready to corral people after school let out and herd them to the Sawada home.

Their gift to him was a mosaic “portrait” by Luna of Tsuna with his friends. The last thing any of them wanted was to give him a gift connected with the mafia specifically, as if the gift had an edge. It was, perhaps, far too expensive to give to a boy of Tsuna’s age, but Luna was insistent. They waited until the party was in full swing to slip upstairs to hang it on the wall in Tsuna’s bedroom, a small card tucked into the corner.

It had, after all, finally been explained to Harry that the Japanese usually did not open presents when they were given, but instead waited until after the giver had left. They got away with it without comment for Lambo, as none of them were actually Japanese. And Gokudera was only a quarter Japanese. For Tsuna, though. . . .

Harry kept a close eye on Bianchi, ready to quietly enspell her should she try anything funny with the food. He knew his siblings were also keeping watch. Tsuna had mentioned during a training session that Bianchi had apparently given up—on him, at least. Harry was still getting sneak-attacked every so often, which helped to keep his situational awareness honed.

On Saturday afternoon Harry made up sauce and dough while Neville went off to purchase a few more things. Right about the time Reborn showed up he pulled the last two pizzas out of the oven—he had already made some for Neville, Luna, and Lambo—and set them hovering while he collected napkins, a bottle of wine, and glasses. They settled in on his bed to watch Ghost in the Shell and gorge themselves on pizza.

“It would be so incredibly bizarre to have your entire body replaced by a machine,” Harry said.

“Unless they have full sensory capability, I’d never want it,” Reborn replied, leering at him. “This was really good pizza. Thank you.”

He leaned over slightly to give Reborn a kiss. “Want to stay the night?”

Reborn looked torn. “Want? Yes. But I shouldn’t. I really wouldn’t want to have to explain to Nono should something happen to Tsuna.”

“How long before you think he’ll be able to take over?”

Reborn shrugged. “He’s only just turned fifteen. Maybe after he’s finished secondary school. Even with how well he’s been doing since you stomped all over him I’m not sure if he could get into a good university.”

“He has several years yet. But his potential strength as a boss doesn’t necessarily come from being a whiz with mathematics or chemistry or whatever.”

“True,” Reborn said with a nod. “We’ll see. I should go.” He stood up and gave Harry a kiss, then vanished in that weird way he had.

Harry sighed and collected everything so he could take it downstairs to be washed.

It was after training on Monday that Reborn held up a letter. Harry eyed it curiously because the seal on it was actually made of Sky Flames. “Vongola Nono sent us a letter, Tsuna.”

Neville and Lambo disapparated; Tsuna slumped for a moment. 

Reborn opened the letter and perused it, then looked up. “He will be coming to visit, to speak with you.”

“Is his health even good enough for that?”

“I’m not sure that matters to him,” Reborn replied. “I expect this will be about the succession. Personally, I don’t think you’re ready, and in the event that he wishes to hold the Inheritance Ceremony I will be recommending that he put it off for a few years, to give you more time to come into your own.”

Tsuna looked at him in grateful surprise.

“But be aware,” Reborn continued. “Depending on the state of his health, you may not be afforded that time. Try to remember that you are not alone. I’m not referring to only your guardians, either.”

Tsuna nodded and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “When?”

“He will be here this weekend.”

“Okay, my fluffy little pupil,” Harry said briskly, “today’s training is over. Time to go home.”

Tsuna scowled at him.

“What? You’re all adorably fluffy, like a little kitten.”

Tsuna scowled harder, but obligingly moved close enough so that Harry could transport him and Reborn to the alley. Reborn gave him a lingering kiss before he followed the offended teen, and Harry apparated to his bedroom. He just knew Tsuna was going to worry all week long. The most he could do was run the kid ragged during training. He went downstairs and kidnapped Lambo for a bit of cuddling before it was time to prepare dinner.

“I had a private meeting with Nono in the morning,” Reborn informed him Saturday evening, “and gave him a verbal report about Tsuna’s progress. As you know I keep in regular contact with him, but face-to-face meetings convey things letters cannot.”

Harry nodded. “What was his reaction?”

“I also showed him the log you’ve been keeping,” Reborn added, setting a black leather notebook down on the side table.

He did a double-take. “You sneaky bastard.”

Reborn gave him a smug look. “He has agreed to hold off. Though—” He eyed Harry carefully. “I admit, there is a part of me wondering if there is anything you or your siblings could do for him.”

“Ano, that would depend on what’s wrong. If it’s just age. . . .”

“He has problems with mobility, something to do with his legs.”

“Tsuki’s pretty good at healing, but I’m having a hard time seeing how we could swing that without blowing the Statue of Secrecy to hell. It’s bad enough how much we’ve already revealed. Let me think. . . . How long is he here for?”

“I determined, after I fully realized your previous identity, that he is aware of the magical world. He’ll be flying back on Monday morning.”

“Oh,” he said. “That helps.”

“But it also depends on what’s wrong.”

He nodded. “For example, if it’s nerve damage, there’s nothing we can do. There’s a spell that causes nerve damage, potentially chronic tremors. If taken to extremes it can break a person’s mind from the sheer amount of pain. No one has ever figured out how to fix that kind of thing. But, well, let’s go ask Tsuki.”

Their “date” was cut short to descend to the living room, where Neville and Lambo were duking it out at Dance Dance Revolution while an indulgent Luna watched. Lambo was shaking his tush like a pro and squealing the whole time.

Harry pulled Luna away a little and said, “How do you feel about doing a diagnosis and possible healing?”

“For?”

“The Vongola Nono,” Reborn said, then explained the basic symptoms.

Luna frowned. “That sounds like nerve damage, or that something is steadily increasing pressure on certain nerve sets. If it’s the former I can’t do a thing, but if it’s the latter, I might be able to. I’m willing, in any case.”

Reborn nodded. “I will ask if he is willing to let you check.”

“Okay.” Luna glanced at Harry, smirked, then leaned in swiftly to peck Reborn on the cheek before dancing off to watch the battle still in progress.

“Cheeky wench.”

Reborn stroked the back of his neck and leaned in for a kiss, then vanished. He showed back up the next day an hour or so after lunch to collect them. Vongola Nono was staying at the classiest hotel in town in the penthouse suite and they had to pass the gauntlet of guardians before they got to see the man himself.

“Nono,” Reborn said, “may I present Hari Mori and Tsuki Mori of the recently formed Trasformare Famiglia. Hari, Tsuki, I’d like you to meet the Vongola Nono.”

Luna, having become accustomed to the way people did things in Japan, bowed. Harry did the same, saying, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir.”

Nono smiled in a friendly way. “Nono is fine. I understand that you may be able to help.”

Harry glanced at Luna, who said, “Possibly, depending on the actual issue. If you will allow it, I can do a diagnosis.”

Nono nodded, watching carefully as Luna revealed her wand.

“The first spell will give me an overall look at your health, telling me where to check more deeply.” She waited until he nodded, then cast. Her brow furrowed as she assimilated the information. “It’s definitely the nerves, but I’ll have to check with a different spell to see exactly what’s going on. Aside from that your overall health looks good, though your heart is having to work a little too hard.”

“Please continue,” Nono said.

She nodded and cast the next spell. “You have calcification on your bones and it’s pressuring the nerves, probably causing pain, loss of sensation, and difficulty in controlling your legs. The good news is that it can be corrected and you should recover just fine.”

“And the bad news?”

She inhaled, paused, and then blew out a breath. “Two options. Someone opens you up to carefully remove the spurs, or we vanish the bones in question and give you Skele-Gro, which will regrow the bones, though it’s a very unpleasant experience.”

“Hold up,” Harry said. “Does that even work for. . . ?”

Luna nodded. “Oh yes, it’s just more unpleasant and requires that the healer maintain a steady infusion of magic. You had your arm redone and that took about twelve hours, right?”

Harry grimaced and glanced down. “Around that, yes. And nothing for the pain. Define steady infusion, because I’m thinking twelve straight hours of that would be more than a little tiring.”

She gave him one of those looks. “It’s not like we couldn’t take turns, silly. How much pain?”

He shrugged. “I was fine. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.”

Luna rolled her eyes and huffed. “Your arm could be hanging off by the tendons and you’d still say, ‘I’m fine.’ I was hoping for something more specific.”

Reborn sent an amused look at Nono. “Typical,” he said quietly.

“They seem close.”

“—felt like my arm was packed with splinters after Dobby woke me up and—”

“Close enough to defend each other’s lives to the death if necessary, and to have blood-bonded as siblings,” Reborn replied. “Hari is the undisputed leader of their little family, but they each have their strengths that they freely share amongst them. Ideas, abilities, ways of thinking.”

“Okay, can you feel it when I do this?” Luna asked.

“I trusted your judgment, Reborn, but seeing two of them in person is reassuring,” Nono said. “They have such resolve.”

Reborn nodded.

“So you try it on me—yes, like that, not too pushy.”

“That doesn’t seem too difficult,” Harry said.

“It’s more of a matter of keeping it steady.”

“We could always temporarily ward the room,” Harry said. “It’d be kind of a bad thing if an attack happened and we hadn’t properly prepared.”

“I did bring the usual along, just in case,” she said. “You never know, after all, and hotel people can be so fussy about permanent modifications to the structure.”

“And a keystone? Even the smallest of them would work for a room of this size, so—”

Reborn cleared his throat, causing Harry and Luna to snap their attention that way. “You seem to be forgetting something.”

The siblings exchanged a confused look, Harry started ticking things off on his fingers, and Luna suddenly face-palmed and nudged her brother. “Right. We don’t have an okay to proceed.”

Harry looked at Nono and Reborn and blushed. “Sorry.”

Nono chuckled and said, “It’s fine. Tell me about the level of pain, please.”

“Sharp, stabbing, needle pains at first, sort of intermittent. It was more the chronicity of it than the level itself that was difficult, but I fell asleep regardless. It felt like my arm was packed with splinters a number of hours later when I got woken up unexpectedly and moved it. By morning it was over and my arm was a bit stiff for a while, but it worked itself out soon enough just from normal use. Wet heat helped, as well.”

“And the infusion?”

Reborn lifted his chin and said, “Try it on me.”

Luna smiled and nodded. “All right.” She stepped closer and took Reborn’s hand.

“That . . . feels odd,” he said. “It almost tickles. I can’t quite describe it, but it’s comforting.”

Luna let go and stepped back. “I’m just that good,” she said smugly, teasing him.

Reborn snorted and gave Nono a nod.

“Actually,” Harry said, “I just thought of something. You have Sun Flames. You might be able to speed the process up.”

“I’m not sure I would want to test a theory on Nono,” Reborn said.

“It would be interesting to test, though,” Luna said, pressing a finger against her lower lip. “Maybe I can convince Kuma to take one for the team.”

Reborn coughed. “Would you be willing to play host at your home for this? You are right that protection would be required.”

“And we’ve already warded the house to the teeth,” Harry said. “I don’t see why not. I can always see if Lambo would like to have a sleepover at Nana-san’s.”

“Your son?” Nono asked.

“Yes, my adorable little man,” he said with a somewhat fatuous smile. “He leaves chaos in his wake. We’re all used to it, the sudden explosions, the tumbles down the stairs, but I would hate for any of that to make you jumpy and cause additional pain.”

“I have decided to go through with this. I would be pleased to accept the hospitality of your home,” Nono said.

“We would love to have you,” Harry replied.

“I will escort Nono and his guardians,” Reborn said.


	5. 05

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to apologize in advance regarding this chapter. This contains the second cameo instance and, whereas the first one was so fleeting you probably never realized it was there, this one is obvious. Unfortunately, _FeS2: Add-Ons_ won’t start posting until after all _FeS2_ chapters are up. It didn’t even occur to me when I began publishing this one that there was no frame of reference yet for the cameos. Just, you know, roll with it for now. The same is not true for the cameo appearances in other stories, because I have a handy little chart made up telling me when to post stuff to more or less sync up. So, whoops? If I remember, this note will poof once it’s no longer applicable.
> 
>  **Also** : My personal copies of this in e-book format, lovingly formatted by myself: [azw3](http://xo.grazhir.com/kidorui/Kidorui%20-%20Shivani.azw3), [epub](http://xo.grazhir.com/kidorui/Kidorui%20-%20Shivani.epub). If you need a different format, [Calibre](http://calibre-ebook.com/) can do conversions.

## 05

The two of them bowed again as a good-bye and allowed themselves to be shown out of Nono’s suite, then found a quiet spot and apparated home. Luna grabbed Neville and started whirlwind preparations so Harry made a quick call to the Sawada house, then made up an overnight bag, captured Lambo, and hauled him away.

He only stayed for a minute (“I’m sorry it was on such short notice.”) and then popped back home to rummage through the supplies in the kitchen while thinking about dinner and breakfast for everyone. That occasioned a fast trip to the store and he got back home just as the doorbell rang, so he hastily dropped the bags on the counter and headed for the front door to open it.

“Please be welcome in our home,” he said, stepping back to allow entry to the group. Once they were all settled in the living room he asked, “Would anyone like something to drink?”

A minute later he was back in the kitchen putting away his groceries and preparing a drinks tray. That was floated out and placed on the coffee table just as Luna and Neville came down the stairs.

Reborn handled the introductions again so that Luna could report that rooms had been made ready. Harry suspected they had expanded one or two of the spare rooms; after all, he did not doubt that at least one guardian, if not two, would be in Nono’s room the entire time keeping an eye on him. He was right. Once Nono was comfortably set up two of his guardians took up position in the room.

“This is going to feel super weird,” Luna warned, then when Nono nodded she looked at Harry and said, “Can you decrease the gravity a bit for Nono for the duration without too much trouble? I think that would make things more comfortable.”

“Yes. I can do that even though I’ll be downstairs fixing dinner. I don’t think I can do it while I’m asleep, though, so. . . .”

“I have plenty of Pepper-Up on hand.”

“We’re good, then.”

She nodded and turned back to Nono. “May I proceed?”

Harry reached out with his Earth Flames as soon as she vanished the bones and had given Nono the Skele-Gro, so that the man’s flesh wouldn’t flatten so much. It might actually reduce the amount of pain since the new bones would have an easier time forming. “Done. I will be downstairs prepping for dinner if I’m needed.”

Luna waved him off so he left. On his way downstairs Reborn landed on his shoulder and he picked up one of the guardians as his shadow. “You’ll want to check in an hour,” he told Neville as he passed through the living room, “to see if she wants to switch for the infusion.

“Okay, eleven people,” he muttered. “Reborn, anything I should avoid?”

Reborn glanced at the guardian. “Ganauche?”

“Avoid shrimp.”

“You could just make lasagne again,” Reborn said casually. “You haven’t made it in a while.”

That was code for, “Please make me lasagne and the rest of them can deal with it.” He smiled. “Sure.” A bit later the kitchen smelled wonderful from the sauce bubbling away, the noodles were parboiled and waiting, the filling was ready, and a large salad was chilling in the fridge. He checked the clock and decided he had time to take a break, so he grabbed a bowl of grapes from the refrigerator and took a seat at the table with Reborn and Ganauche.

“Going to have to buy more of these. Lambo will flip if he finds out I ate so many of his grapes,” he commented.

“Tch,” Reborn said rudely. “He’ll just pout at you and give you a teary look, then forgive you.”

“Your son uses Lightning Flames, correct?”

Harry nodded. “Well, he has them. We’re working on him consciously using them, but I prefer to get him up to speed on other things first, physically. Speed, reaction, aim, stuff like that. I mean, being able to wield flames is fantastic and all, but if you can’t hit the broad side of a barn even with a map and a spotlight. . . .” He shrugged.

Ganauche chuckled.

“My chibi is enthusiastic and he’s a very hard worker, but I like to make sure he has plenty of time for normal school-type activities and fun.”

Reborn plucked some grapes out of the bowl and started munching on them.

Harry popped another grape into his mouth and went through his mental inventory, then got up to toss together a chess pie and one of mocha-chocolate cream. By the time the chess pie came out of the oven he was ready to put the lasagne in. The bread was prepared next and set aside, so he set his mental alarm and refreshed drinks all around before taking a seat again and slowly edging the bowl away from Reborn, who had made serious inroads on it.

“How are you going to stuff yourself senseless on my lasagne in an orgy of pleasure if you eat all the grapes?”

Reborn smirked. “Grapes are mostly water, so it’s not as thought they’re terribly filling.”

Half a dozen responses flitted through his head, but all of them bordered on lewd, and he was not about to voice any with a stranger in the room. Instead he got up and put the bowl in the refrigerator and transferred the bread to the oven. “Let me think,” he muttered. “Four upstairs, seven downstairs. . . . Kitchen or living room? We’re not exactly formal around here.”

Ganauche shrugged. “Sounds like they’re watching television, so out there is probably fine.”

Harry nodded and started grabbing plates, cutlery, and glasses to stack up on the counter. A pitcher was pulled out of storage and filled with pure water and a ton of ice, wine was selected, and he ducked into the storage room long enough to push out a serving cart.

Enough food for six was placed on the cart along with service for four and charms were used to maintain the temperature. “Reborn, I’m going to deliver this upstairs. Will you get everyone else squared away?” As soon as his lover nodded Harry was off, using his powers to float the cart up the staircase, and was shortly entering the room Nono was in.

Luna was back on duty so he told her, “If you need more, just send a messenger,” before getting trays ready for the four of them. Luna would find it slightly difficult to manage considering she was infusing magic into Nono, but she was plenty inventive. “I hope you enjoy.”

He joined the others downstairs, finding that Reborn had prepared a tray for him, so he took a seat next to him on a loveseat and tucked in. He sat back once he was done with a happy sigh, gave Reborn’s hand a squeeze, then popped back up to give Luna a break.

Pepper-Up potions were used to keep him awake, but he was pleased to see that Nono was able to sleep through a lot of the pain. By morning he was fine, though stiff. He was also very grateful, though it came across in a fairly restrained way.

Once they finally left Harry crashed face-first onto his bed and slept.

They found another forest clearing and co-opted it for Halloween. A trail through the surrounding forest was made from glowing footprints, a way to lead guests to the location, and the route was sprinkled with scare effects. Luna wanted tacky, so he gave her tacky. There was a haunted house, cupcakes with bats on them, and every cliché he could think of when it came to food and décor for her birthday party.

Of course, no one they invited had any clue it was her birthday, because she did not want gifts and knew if they knew that they would feel obliged to bring some. Reborn was let in on things, but mostly so he could properly appreciate it if Tsuna and any of his friends freaked out on the way in. Harry would have considered calling in some actual ghosts to play parts, but muggles could not see them. He wasn’t sure if flame users could, either. As it was, Neville was presumably having a hell of a time scaring people as they followed the footprints.

When they did finally arrive Tsuna looked a bit frazzled, Nana looked enchanted, and Lambo was giggling madly; about what he expected, really. Luna appeared wearing a set of rabbit ears and a puffy tail, to welcome everyone to her party and invite them to dig in.

A week later Reborn showed him another letter sealed with Sky Flame, then opened it. “Nono sends his thanks. He’s doing very well and seems to have full mobility again. He has also mentioned a possible job, if you were interested in taking one.”

“Oh?” He sent off spells to call in the others and started getting the snacks ready. “What sort of job?”

“There is a flame-wielding murderer at large, a very clever one, it seems. He uses Mist Flames to create artwork and sells them to his targets.”

Harry’s brow furrowed, not quite seeing how that worked.

“Once the work is safely at the target’s home he uses his connection to the illusion to trap the target, and then he moves in for the kill, using the existing flames to essentially scare them to death. Because the art itself isn’t actually real, there’s no evidence left behind, no fingerprints, no DNA. . . .”

“Huh. That is pretty clever. I guess it’s the thrill of the deception and the mystery left behind when the actual object goes missing.”

Reborn shrugged. “Perhaps. The job is to take him out.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “Can an insane person competently use their flames?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, so that’s out. A hit, then.”

“I think it sounds interesting,” Luna piped up. “Definitely the sort of criminal that mundane law enforcement couldn’t possibly bring to justice.”

Tsuna looked a bit uneasy as he settled in for their break.

“I agree,” Harry said. “Any specifications on how he’s to die?”

Reborn said, “Obvious.”

“Well, either of us could do obvious,” Luna said. “Want to flip for it?”

He pulled out a galleon and handed it to Tsuna, who looked at it curiously, then flipped it into the air.

“Heads!” Luna called.

It hit the picnic blanket heads up; Harry reclaimed it and tucked it away.

“Mwua ha ha. Public or private?”

“Either,” Reborn said, “but if you do what I think you have in mind, you may traumatize the hell out of a lot of innocents in public.”

“True.”

“How can you be so casual about it?” Tsuna asked.

Luna gave him a disbelieving look. “Do you have any idea how many people we had to kill because of that terrorist and his minions? Once you accept that some people are simply too dangerous to live you kind of get over it. Look at it from inside your own skin. What if this man had sold some of that artwork to Nana-san? Kyoko-chan? It feels a whole lot different when it happens to someone you know, as opposed to hearing about someone going postal several countries over and gunning down a bunch of school kids.”

Tsuna grimaced. “I understand, but—” He sighed. “Yeah.”

“It’s if you start not caring at all about who you kill that it’s time for a long stay in a padded cell with lots of drugs,” Harry said.

Tsuna shrugged and started eating.

Harry counted it as progress, and so did Reborn judging by his expression.

Reborn delivered a contract two days later that they went over with a fine-toothed comb. Luna signed in her spot and kept a copy as proof of her mission. “To give myself inspiration,” she said, “I’ll just pretend this is Fenrir Greyback.”

Neville nodded. “Good choice.”

When Friday evening rolled around she went off on a little trip and was back by Sunday. “It was simple,” she claimed. “I tracked him until he was alone on the subway and decayed him into a puddle of disgusting goo.”

“I can’t imagine that the janitors will appreciate your gift,” Neville said.

“No matter where I did it, someone would have to clean up,” she pointed out. The copy was filed in a new safe they had constructed and life went back to the usual.

The next mission offer that came in involved a group that used flames to poison food, sort of like Bianchi could do, but not so obviously. Harry was offended by that and volunteered. He had his choice of how to deal with them, and chose to make it clean, simply compressing them all out of visible existence. He felt the odd twinge at what he was doing as he did it, but he also knew that, as Luna had said, mundane law enforcement would have absolutely no clue how to even find them, never mind bring them to justice.

Harry and Reborn were watching a movie when he realized that Reborn had fallen asleep, and did not look to be enjoying whatever dream he was having. “Reborn?” he said softly, hoping to wake the man, and when that did not work, he carefully placed a hand on his shoulder and shook gently.

A split second later a gun was pointed at his forehead.

And then Reborn was asleep again, the gun having vanished.

“Okay,” he muttered. “This is weird.”

Reborn did not actually wake up until morning, which made Harry extremely uneasy. But when he did, his expression was disturbed. “I apologize,” he said. “Would you be willing to host a meeting tonight? I don’t want to do this around Mama.”

“Of course. How many people? What should I have on hand? Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

Reborn stopped him with a kiss. “Just snacks or whatever, nothing special. As for how many, hm. Up to a dozen, I suppose. Lambo goes to bed at nine, correct?”

He nodded.

“I’ll start contacting people, then. I’ll see you tonight.” Reborn gave him another kiss and vanished.

It was probably a good thing that they were on break for the new year. He got up, realizing that Lambo must have come in, seen Reborn there, and slept in his own bed for once, and went off to find his son.

After letting Luna and Neville know about the meeting he spent the better part of the day with Lambo, wandering the shopping district, playing games, and messing around with modeling clay. It wasn’t until they were having an afternoon snack that Lambo finally said, “Was Otosan having a sleepover with Reborn?”

“Something like that, chibi. Daddy and Reborn like each other and like spending time together.”

A finger went up to rest against Lambo’s lower lip. “Mama and Sawada-san like? Lambo-san saw Reborn give Otosan a kiss once.”

He chuckled. “You do realize that Reborn isn’t really a little boy, right?”

Lambo nodded.

“It’s Mama and Sawada-san like,” he said.

Lambo’s eyes widened and he started poking his index fingers against each other. “Is Reborn going to join our family?”

“. . .I have no idea, chibi. I think it’s a bit early to worry about that.”

“O~kay!” Lambo warbled, then snarfed down more cheesecake.

He took his little man upstairs a bit early and tucked him in, read him a story, then kissed him good-night before heading back down to ensure everything was ready for the mystery meeting.

Reborn arrived with a number of people in tow. Tsuna was there, Dino, Dino’s right-hand man Romario, and a number of Dino’s men. Harry welcomed them all in and got them settled, though the nameless men arrayed themselves in twos here and there, including one set near the front door. Neville and Luna brought in a cart groaning with nibbles and drinks and made sure everyone had something, at least, before sitting down, as well.

“I have a favor to ask,” Reborn opened with, after he situated himself on the arm of Harry’s chair. “That favor is for representation to fight on my behalf.”

Tsuna went into partial freak-out mode while Dino just looked puzzled.

“Last night I dreamed of something from long ago, when a man with an iron hat and a clear pacifier appeared in my room with a claim that he was gathering the ‘I Prescelti Sette’. It changed after that”—he glanced briefly at Harry—“to seven of us gathered together. We changed from our adult forms to these immature ones, though one disappeared, to be replaced by another, and one disappeared entirely.

“The man with the iron hat reappeared and we attempted to attack him. After all, he was responsible for what happened to us. When we realized we could not move the man—we eventually decided to call him Checker Face for the etched mask he was wearing—explained that we were sharing a dream, and that we would not be able to attack, either with weapons, flames, or our Arcobaleno powers.”

Harry frowned slightly. He had not yet heard that term in any context aside from a weather phenomenon.

“He wasn’t there to fight, he said, but rather to assess our determination and to make a proposition. None of us were of a mind to be anything but suspicious, but he asked whether or not we wanted to solve the ‘Curse of the Rainbow’. I said nothing, but the others said they did. There would be a battle, he said, and the Arcobaleno who won would have their form reverted to an adult state. We would need representatives to fight on our behalf. I didn’t trust him or what he was saying and stated so, but the others were . . . in favor, after Checker Face threatened to disappear and leave all of us in these forms for the rest of our lives.”

After a silence Luna spoke up. “All right. What is the Curse of the Rainbow, then? Just the change in form and the powers you mentioned?”

“That, and being the bearer of these,” Reborn said, tapping the pacifier he always wore. “None of us were asked if we wanted this. We were chosen based on our strength, our abilities, for each of the Flames of the Sky, and forced into this. I do not know the actual purpose behind any of it.”

“Why would this come up now, after all this time?” Neville asked. “What, because iron hat guy is bored and wants to torture a new person with this curse?”

“That’s an excellent question,” Dino said. “What do you mean by representation? Just one, or what?”

“A team. A ‘boss’ representative and up to six fighters. I myself will be unable to fight unless a representative is in serious danger, in which event I would be able to take on my adult form for three minutes only and fight. My real self is super cool,” he said proudly. “We won’t know the full details until later, but I do know that team alliances are allowed.”

“Reborn,” Harry said slowly, “are you—have you been feeling well, lately?”

“. . .Now that you mention it, I have been feeling a little under the weather,” Reborn admitted.

Luna slipped her wand out just enough and cast a diagnosis, then frowned and shrugged minutely.

“So—”

“I will help you,” Harry heard himself saying. “I will fight for you.”

Reborn leaned closer and whispered, “Thank you.”

That was when he heard a familiar giggle. Harry sighed and said, “Excuse me for a moment, please,” and got up to capture his son, who was spying on the meeting from behind a pot plant. He tossed an embarrassed smile over his shoulder before hauling Lambo upstairs to tuck him back in with a round of scolding and a stress on secrecy.

When he got back downstairs it was to find that Dino and—shockingly—Tsuna had agreed to be representatives.

“And others?” Luna was saying.

“That depends. I asked Hibari and he refused.”

“Ano, that’s not exactly surprising if a team can be a total of eight people,” Tsuna said. “But, I guess, we could ask some of my friends.”

“I was thinking of Gokudera, Yamamoto, Sasagawa, and Dokuro,” Reborn stated.

Harry was simply pleased that neither sibling had jumped to volunteer. And speaking of that—“This is a battle to defeat, not death, right?”

Reborn gave him an amused look. “Yes. But accidents can happen, or someone might get caught up in bloodlust.”

He spared a look at the ceiling, toward Lambo, and nodded.

“Are you willing to host meetings here, or at the field?”

“Of course.”

“Then that’s it for tonight. Tsuna and I can talk to the others tomorrow.”

Dino eyed Harry and Reborn, then said, “I’ll escort Tsuna back to his house.”

Reborn simply nodded, though Tsuna looked puzzled. Harry wondered if the kid even realized that sometimes people went for their own gender, because he obviously was not interpreting the signals right when it came to his two tutors.

Once everyone was gone and it was just the two them, Reborn leaned in for a lingering kiss. “It means so much to me that you would volunteer.”

“I wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t.” Part of him had wanted to be flippant, because feelings were something he generally shied away from expressing all that openly. “You mean too much to me not to, Renato.”

Reborn actually looked shocked. “Who—?”

Harry smiled a touch ruefully. “I accidentally lifted it from someone’s mind.”

“It was Shamal, wasn’t it.”

He nodded. “I was curious because of his behavior around the ladies, and then you wandered into the scene and he saw you. It dredged up your original name, which I heard-saw-felt as I was pulling away. Reborn is a fitting substitute, twice over.”

“Do you know what I actually look like, then?” Reborn asked curiously.

“No. I didn’t stick around. It was bad enough I gave into temptation at all. But then I didn’t feel so bad later when he hit on Tsuki and she cursed him. By the way, why do you wear orange on your hat if you’re a Sun?”

Reborn hesitated, then sighed. “There was always a tiny part of me that hoped to harmonize with a Sky. I wore orange as kind of a way to say it without really saying it. But I never did, and after I was cursed, never even bothered to consider it. I guess I still wear it because it’s become a part of my image.”

“What would you say if I changed that band to a reddish-brown?”

“That depends.”

“On?”

“Will you promise to keep feeding me?”

“Yes,” he said, knowing that Reborn was really asking, “Do you love me? Even in this cursed form?”

Reborn smiled and nodded, so Harry used his hard-won ability at wandless magic to alter the colour of the hat’s band. He didn’t even object when Reborn snuggled up to him, then nuzzled and kissed his neck. It was making him feel a bit weird—‘Okay, a lot,’ he thought—to feel his insides quiver with longing when he knew perfectly well the one kissing him was not in adult form, but he allowed it.

“I want to believe that this battle could give me what I’ve dreamed of,” Reborn whispered against his neck, “but I fear it’s all some kind of cruel cosmic joke.”

Harry gave a mental “fuck it” and carried his lover upstairs and to his bedroom, so they could sleep cuddled up together.

The next day Lambo was spending time with I-Pin and Fūta, so he was safely occupied. Because of the holiday break Harry had plenty of time to open up a trail to the training field that would allow certain people to find the place. After all, the thought of apparating that many people—just no.

He met up with Reborn and the others outside Nami Middle and led the way, arriving not too much later at the field, where he broke out refreshments. Tsuna’s friends were looking around curiously, probably wondering how they had never stumbled over the place before. They had just settled down when a very strange man appeared and bowed.

His face looked almost mask-like, for one. His hair was black and slicked back, and his eyes were unnatural. His tie, his gloves, and the top of his hat all sported a checker pattern. After laughing gaily he announced, “I am Wonomichi, the planner for the Representative Battle of the Rainbow!”

“How kind of you to drop in,” Harry said dryly.

“It is, isn’t it? I am here to explain the rules!” Wonomichi giggled like a school girl. “So! Here it is. Each team will be given a box with special wristwatches in them, one for the Arcobaleno, one for their representative boss, and six more for battlers. If a person’s watch is destroyed they are eliminated from the Representative Battles. If the boss watch is destroyed, the team is eliminated.

“The watches will display the team name and a time. One minute prior to the start of a battle session the watch will display the allotted length of the session and, once it begins, count down, so you must all always be on your guards. The Arcobaleno may not engage in battle unless one of their representatives is in mortal danger, at which time they can request of the watch to suspend the curse for up to three minutes per twenty-four hour period.”

“Can that suspension be invoked multiple times in that twenty-four hour period?” Reborn asked.

“Yes. There is a feature to resume your current form. So long as you have time remaining from those three minutes, you can suspend the curse again if one of your representatives is in mortal danger. During battle times any team can attack any other team, or members against members. You do not have to fight as a complete team at all times. If you have extra watches you may recruit additional battlers. You may form alliances between teams.”

“Where will the battles take place?” Dino asked.

“Good question!” Wonomichi cried happily and giggled again. “Wherever you are!”

Harry frowned and made a mental note to have his siblings keep Lambo under house arrest, and to get a hotel room or camp out. “When does all this begin?” he asked.

“Four days from now!” Wonomichi said joyfully, and opened the briefcase he was carrying. From it he pulled a smaller case, which he handed to Reborn. “Choose wisely!” Then he disappeared.

Reborn opened the case and stared at the contents. “Do any of you wish to back out?”

No one said a word.

Reborn pulled one of the watches from the case, a black one, and offered it to Harry. “Will you accept this?”

He looked and saw that it was heavy-duty in construction and had a small plate at the top which read “Boss” on it. The time displayed on it was set to zeros, and just above that was “Reborn”. He accepted the watch with a nod. He knew the offer meant that Reborn was confident in his ability to protect himself as what might well be the focus of the attacks.

The remainder were passed out, though he noticed that the one for Reborn resembled the cross-section of a pacifier for the face and came with a small tag, presumably instructions for the curse manipulation. His also had two lines of display, one of which already showed three minutes. There was one unused watch, which Reborn pocketed. Harry had no idea who Dokuro was, but they had not shown up.

“Unfortunately we don’t know who else will be acting as representatives,” Reborn said, “but I can make a guess that the Varia may well stand in for Mammon. The battles can be anywhere, which is not a good thing.”

“Bets on any time, too?” Dino said.

Reborn nodded. “It is both good and bad that the students are all on break, because it means a very small chance of any battles occurring at any of the schools. However, if other teams do not respect the innocents of Namimori, there may be incidents within town. Something tells me we will not be able to go far, so please keep this in mind.”

“You think everyone’s coming here?” Tsuna asked.

Reborn nodded again. “If I’m wrong, we’ll all very possibly be transported elsewhere when the time comes. That we weren’t told where to be says something. So, let’s talk about techniques to efficiently break the boss watches of other teams, and to support each other.”

That evening Harry sat Lambo down for a serious talk. “Daddy is going to fight on Reborn’s behalf, chibi, and I need to know that you’ll behave, that you’ll stick to the house while all this is going on. I don’t want there to be any chance that you could get hurt.”

“Tsuki-oba will make it fun like last time?” Lambo said.

He nodded. “I’m sure she will. And Kuma-oji. No spying, no running off. Will you do that for me?”

Lambo looked a bit disheartened at the idea of house arrest again, but nodded. “Lambo-san won’t let Otosan down.”

He pulled Lambo in for a fluffy hug. “I love you very much, Lambo. Thank you. I’ll probably sleep somewhere else for those days, so that none of the fighting comes near here, but I’ll do my best to call every day, all right?”

A finger went up to his mouth before Lambo said, “Does Otosan think that Kuma-oji will let Lambo-san sleep with him?”

“I don’t see why not, chibi. You know he and Tsuki-oba love you a lot, too.”

“Okay.” It wasn’t his usual cheerful warble, but he did not seem too unhappy.

Harry gave him another hug. “Let’s go ask him together.”

What upset Harry about the battles was not the fighting. It was the sheer brutality he was seeing, such as from Iemitsu toward Tsuna. It was time for his son to be “treated like an adult”? Punched so hard he flew and landed several blocks away? Thankfully the boy had been in Dying Will mode, so the damage was not fatal, or even a long-term problem.

It struck him that after all he had heard about the man, his insistence on coddling Tsuna, that suddenly expecting the boy to fight like a seasoned veteran was more than a bit ridiculous. Of course, Iemitsu seemed to be under the impression that Tsuna held the Boss watch and was very surprised that he did not.

At the end of the first “day” six people had been eliminated as recounted by the watches: Tazaru; Torikabuto; Daisy; M.M.; Tumeric; Oregano; and Ryohei.

Reborn explained who each of them were in an aside to Harry, the ones he was familiar with, at any rate.

“So all the CEDEF people have herb names?” Harry replied. “Does anyone ever make Spice Girls jokes?”

Reborn snickered. “From what the watches are telling us Team Verde eliminated five people in all of ten minutes. We need to gather intel to see what we’re up against. My spies have told me where they are. We can get a few hours of sleep and head out.” He pulled Harry aside and whispered, “I have insects spying and reporting back to me at intervals, but there’s always a delay for them to travel. If you can get trackers on any other bosses. . . .”

He nodded. “I have them already on Colonnello and Iemitsu, Fon and Hibari. I don’t know how fragile they are against a vast expenditure of flames, though, because it’s not like Tsuna ever blew a gasket on us and shattered one. I’m also not sure what would happen if I threw up a quick and dirty ward set to try to hide us from everyone, in the event that we all desperately needed sleep.”

Reborn frowned thoughtfully. “Without knowing what kind of true power Checker Face and his planner have, I couldn’t begin to guess. We could try it, if it comes to that. The less you do obviously, though, the better, otherwise I might have suggested you charm the watches to all look the same, to further the confusion, or make them look like something else entirely.”

Harry had a mokeskin pouch, for one, absolutely stuffed with various seeds. No plant life in the vicinity? Not a problem. Not as good as actual rooted plants, but certainly enough to give an opponent pause.

While everyone else was bedding down for the night Harry was checking the perimeter wards. The first day’s battles had not begun until toward evening, but they had no guarantees aside from midnight, presumably. The wards would wake all of them with increasing, jagged vibration if anyone not of their group should approach their location.

Harry fell back into his habit of sleeping lightly, but they still managed a proper amount before it was time to get up and get moving, to go spy on the competition. Reborn led them to a manor on the outskirts of town.

The second “day” of battle started at sunset and was set for thirty minutes. It was a confusing brawl involving Teams Yuni, Reborn, Verde, and Colonnello. Team Yuni was eliminated and Harry took out someone who looked like an Arcobaleno but wasn’t (Lal Mirch, Reborn informed him later; Harry had crushed her watch with gravity from under a disillusionment spell, reasoning that if Mist users could get away with altering reality on that level, so could he—and really, was an official going to pop in long enough to test him for the right kind of flames?).

Team Fon was eliminated when Hibari broke his own Boss watch in a snit over not being able to fight Xanxus.

Team Skull was eliminated when a new team appeared, Team Bermuda, and both defeated and took for their own the team’s watches. Wonomichi appeared to all remaining Arcobaleno to inform them of the change, though not why it had been given sanction.

“Bermuda is Vindice,” Reborn said, looking worried, having queried his returning spies.

“Why would they get involved?” he asked. “What possible reason could they have to bust in on this?”

“Bermuda. . . . He’s like me.”

“What?” That had certainly not been a part of the information shared about Arcobaleno.

“It’s part of what I don’t understand, Hari,” Reborn said, sounding tired.

‘Holy fuck,’ he thought, ‘and everyone keeps saying you don’t mess with the Vindice. Shit.’

When the watches came to life again everyone groaned, then expressed confusion over being informed of more eliminations. They weren’t even on battle time, so why was any of it allowed?

Team Colonnello was eliminated by Team Bermuda. They would not find out until later that Iemitsu had offered for Team Colonnello to sleep at the Sawada home, and that Nana had come under attack during Team Bermuda’s assault, and had been hospitalized. The second Reborn’s insects came back with the news Harry ducked away to cover and sent off a patronus to his siblings.

“I saw that, whatever it was,” Reborn whispered when he returned.

“A messenger, essentially,” he replied. “I asked my siblings to bring Fūta and I-Pin to our house and keep them there. Team Colonnello might be eliminated, but I rather doubt that Sawada-san will bother to look after them, not with Nana-san in hospital.” He glanced over to see Tsuna huddled next to Gokudera and Yamamoto.

“This won’t do a thing for the relationship between Tsuna and Iemitsu.”

Harry shook his head. “I’ll activate the secondary aspects of the wards here. If Team Bermuda is attacking outside of sanctioned time. . . .”

“I agree.”

The third “day” brought another ally. A girl showed up and accepted the final watch from Reborn right before they were attacked by members of Team Bermuda. The three Vindice fought with incredibly long chains tipped with sharp, triangular tips. The watches alerted them at midnight that a session was about to start and was set for twelve minutes.

Part way through the battle a combination of attacks stripped away most of the bandages covering the Vindice, to reveal a nightmare of zombie-like forms of partly-decayed flesh, and each of them wore a stone-like pacifier. One spoke. “First of all, I’ll praise you. It’s the first time anyone has ever managed to see the real us. Even though only momentarily, you surpassed the power of a human being.”

“Are you suggesting,” Reborn said, “that you aren’t human, in the end? Besides, what you have around your necks isn’t something that can be found just anywhere. Those pacifiers have the exact same shape as an Arcobaleno’s.”

“Why do you have them?” Gokudera demanded. “Tell us!”

“We can’t . . . without Bermuda’s permission.”

“What is he?” Tsuna asked.

“Maybe he’s in collusion with Checker Face!” Gokudera shouted.

“No!” their spokesman said angrily. “Bermuda would never, ever team up with Checker Face! Bermuda is the most worthy of being an Arcobaleno!”

Yamamoto and the girl took out one of the Vindice, Harry took out the second with gravity, and Tsuna and Gokudera managed the third, but only after Reborn pulled out an old test paper of Tsuna’s that showed what a loser he had been previously and said, “You’ve been doing so well that if you lose in a battle of Dying Wills at this point, Tsuna, I wash my hands of you! Understood?”

Before they had a chance to relax more flames burst into being. “My pacifier is resonating,” Reborn muttered.

Out of the disturbance came two Vindice, one in Arcobaleno form. “I didn’t come here to fight you this time,” Bermuda said. “I have business with Reborn.”

“What do you want?”

“I bring you an invitation. Join me.”

There was a long pause while everyone tried to make sense of that. Even Reborn was showing signs of surprise. “You want to make an alliance with my team?”

“No, I don’t need your team. I just like you. I want only you. For my team.”

Reborn’s brow went up. “Are you mental? Of course I’m going to say no.”

“I thought so,” Bermuda said, raising a finger. “But once you know the truth you won’t be able to.”

Something started forming near Reborn. Harry had no clue what it was, but Tsuna shouted. “A warp hole!?”

“You’re coming with me,” Bermuda said.

‘What the fuck is a warp hole?’ he thought. Before he could figure out how to react, Reborn was sucked into something like a singularity, and Tsuna with him, as the boy had jetted forward using Sky Flames and followed him through.

‘I feel . . . like a complete failure,’ he thought, then checked the tracker on Reborn. ‘Italy? So warp holes are a form of transportation.’ The watches came to life again and announced the end of the battle day. And that reminded him that Dino was nowhere to be found; in fact, he usually wasn’t. Had Reborn sent him off on some mission during a moment of inattention?

The others all looked at him. “They’re in Italy right now,” he said. “If Bermuda is attempting to sway Reborn to his side, we can hopefully expect them to be safe, and to be returned to us. Get something to eat and try to rest. I’ll keep watch.”

“Ano, Gokudera and Yamamoto look like they might need the hospital,” the girl said, causing the two boys to glare at her.

He looked more closely and saw she was correct. “Shit,” he muttered. Healing potions would only work if he infused magic into them for long enough, and he was only one person. “You two still okay to stand?”

Both boys nodded and got up, though they were flagging pretty badly at the effort. Harry reached out and altered the gravity around them. “I’ll float you there, then.”

“I will come, just in case,” the girl said.

He learned her name along the way—Dokuro Chrome—and recalled that Reborn had mentioned wanting to recruit her. She might not be an exceptionally powerful Mist user, but she had plenty of resolve and their victory would not have gone nearly as smoothly without her. She stayed at the hospital while Harry returned to the clearing.

It wasn’t too long after that Reborn and Tsuna stepped out of a sudden disturbance.

“Reborn! Tsuna!”

Reborn sent a small smile at Harry, but turned to tell Tsuna something. After a few exchanges Tsuna nodded and walked away. Reborn moved to Harry’s side. “The others?”

“The hospital. Dokuro-chan and I brought them there. I couldn’t heal both by myself. But they should be fine quickly enough.”

Reborn nodded. “Tsuna went home for the time being. As far as I know Iemitsu is there, but since he’s out of the battles. . . . I need to gather the other Arcobaleno to speak with them about what just happened. I am certain that Bermuda’s team won’t attack out of session, so if you want to visit home yourself. . . .”

“Why do I get the feeling you may not tell me what happened?”

“Not right now,” Reborn replied. “I’ll be back here as quickly as I can. Please.”

He sighed. “All right. I don’t like it, but all right.”

“Thank you.” Reborn gave him a kiss and vanished.

Harry slipped into a tent and waited. As much as he would like to see his family in person he just couldn’t risk it. He never realized he had fallen asleep until Reborn woke him up by sitting on his chest and leaning in to give him a kiss.

He covered his mouth so he did not yawn right in Reborn’s face. “Huh.”

“We Arcobaleno had a bit of a scuffle,” Reborn said. “When Bermuda borrowed me—and I let him do it, because I wanted to know the truth—I was finally shown the truth behind the Arcobaleno, the Fated Day, and the Representative Battles. All of it is part of a generational system. The rings the Vongola guardians wear? The pacifiers? They end up handed down to the next generation at some point. There’s a second set of rings, but that’s irrelevant for the moment.”

He did not like where what Reborn was saying was going.

“The difference is that the pacifiers are, well, different. The point of these battles is to find the next generation of Arcobaleno,” Reborn said tonelessly.

He stared into his lover’s eyes while his heart broke. The Vindice had pacifiers, stone ones, and were horror show freaks. “You either end up dead or part of the Vindice,” he guessed flatly, but he could not prevent the almost painful action of swallowing after those words.

Reborn nodded. “We’re coming to the end of our lifespan as Arcobaleno. We need to be replaced. The pacifiers are part of a system to protect the Flames of the Sky in this world, and we’re the poor bastards who got sucked into competing for places under a curse. Checker Face alternates how it happens so that people forget in time and don’t make the connection.”

“So no matter who—so why did Bermuda want you on his team?”

“He wants to break the system. The only time Checker Face is supposed to be vulnerable is when he’s making the changeover. Bermuda wants to win so he can kill him then, and it would result in the destruction of the pacifiers, as well as anyone connected to them. It’s basically a question of how we want to die.”

“I see. Why did you fight with the other Arcobaleno? They couldn’t agree on how to respond?” Both of them ignored that his voice cracked.

“Basically. I saw Tsuna just a little bit ago. He looked like he’d barely slept. He made it very clear to me that he wasn’t giving up. He also called me a failure as a home tutor if I was going to act so accepting of death. I think he’s up to something, has some plan. He’s really coming into his own.”

Harry smiled, then snapped, “Fat lot of good that will do if you and the others die and the best of us become your replacements.”

Reborn kissed him again. “I know. I just couldn’t resist you. Let’s hope whatever Tsuna has in mind works, because I want to be with you for a long, long time, Hari.”

Three o’clock and everyone able to fight was ready according to the plan worked out amongst the strongest fighters and the Arcobaleno. Team Reborn was at the clearing when Bermuda appeared through a warp. “Reborn-kun. I came to pick you up. Have you made preparations to join us?”

“Sorry, Bermuda. I can’t become your ally.”

“Eh? This is a surprise. You know what this’ll mean, right?”

“We won’t let your team win,” Dino said.

“We won’t let Reborn and the others get killed, either,” Tsuna added.

“Well, well. Even though I already told you that no matter what, there was no way for them to stay alive. . . . Or could it be that you’ve come across some secret method of keeping the current Arcobaleno alive? Well, whatever. I have no need for weak allies that would cling to life like this. This is good-bye, Reborn-kun. I’m counting on you, Jager-kun.”

“Don’t think I’m the same as before,” Tsuna warned. “My friends are here with me today!”

Bermuda just laughed creepily.

“When it comes to trash, the result is the same no matter how many people come at you.” The watches announced the battle start and Jager acted, using chains to lop off Tsuna’s head, but the body refused to fall or even show signs of death. “This feeling. . . . A puppet!?”

“It’s strange,” Bermuda said. “I can sense the flame, and even the heartbeat. . . .”

Jager used his chains again and ripped open “Tsuna’s” body down the center, revealing a container of flames and mechanisms.

“As we anticipated,” Reborn said, “you have the power to not only sense our forms, but our flames as well. On our side we have not only fighters, but also several geniuses. Well done, right? Using Verde’s equipment, specialists installed speakers giving off heartbeats and voices, and devices containing everyone’s respective flames, into exact simulacrums to create these ‘decoy puppets’.”

Jager attacked again, taking down everyone but Reborn, exposing them all as puppets.

“But you’re the real thing, Reborn-kun,” Bermuda stated.

“Hm, I wonder. . . .”

“You just said, ‘on our side,’ huh? In other words, it’s not just your team, but the remaining three teams have joined together, huh?”

“Hm, I wonder. . . .” Reborn repeated.

While Reborn was keeping Bermuda busy, Harry, Tsuna, Basil, and Enma were going from battle to battle and destroying the opponents that everyone else was keeping distracted in preparation for their arrival. All four of them could fly, and two of them could speed the others up.

Eventually it came down to Jager, and it was realized—by Tsuna!—that Jager had to keep making contact with Bermuda in order to replenish his flame. Tsuna shouted it out for all of them present to hear it.

“I see,” Reborn said, “Now everything makes sense.”

“In other words, the Arcobaleno who become Vindice don’t stand on their own feet, but simply survive with the energy Bermuda gives them!” Verde said.

“That is. . . .”

“Just like living corpses.”

“I don’t want to be his slave!” yelled Skull.

“It’s too late,” Bermuda said.

And then Wonomichi appeared, flailing his arms. “No, Bermuda-san!” he called with a laugh. “You must move away! Even though you’re the Arcobaleno of the team, unless you break your spell you’re an outsider!” He giggled happily. “From now on I will consider any contact an act of cooperation, since you’re supplying energy, and that’s forbidden! If you do it you go against the rules and lose!”

“It’s okay,” Jager said. “I’ve recovered enough energy.”

And the battle was on again. Eventually it came down to Enma and Harry holding Jaeger in place so that Tsuna could blast a hole straight through Jager’s torso and send him tumbling in a heap on the ground.

“He won’t die so easily. Finish him!”

“I won’t let you,” Bermuda said. “Now that I’ve come this far, I won’t let you get in my way. Present, please!”

But while Bermuda was doing the usual villain-type speech after he morphed into his un-cursed form, Harry just rolled his eyes slightly and flattened him. Tsuna immediately destroyed Jager’s watch, ending the Representative Battles.

“Oooo!” Wonomichi said. “This means, Team Reborn is the winner!” He laughed happily and removed his hat, reaching in to grab handfuls of confetti and toss it around. “Congratulations! As a special gift, Reborn, the Arcobaleno of the winning team, will have his curse removed!”

“Don’t lie, Wonomichi,” Tsuna said flatly.

“What?” Wonomichi stopped mid-throw of more confetti.

“The real goal of the Representative War of the Rainbow is to get rid of the current Arcobaleno, kill them, and chose the next generation of Arcobaleno to protect the pacifiers.”

“Eh? Hah? What are you talking about?” And still he giggled and laughed.

“You shouldn’t blame him,” came a voice. “He really doesn’t know anything.”

Checker Face appeared, doffing his hat as a greeting.

“I can’t feel his presence,” Reborn said.

“Must be a hologram or something,” Fon added.

“It seems that Bermuda-kun told you a lot of bad things about the Arcobaleno and the secret of the pacifiers.”

“It’s all true,” Bermuda said from his position on the ground.

“I believe what Bermuda told us about the secret of the Arcobaleno is true,” Tsuna said, “but I don’t support his plan of killing the Arcobaleno to defeat Checker Face.”

“Defeat me? That’s a nice dream.”

“Sawada Tsunayoshi! Don’t speak too much!” Bermuda demanded.

“But we have to discuss this, either way!”

“Discuss with me?” After a slight pause Checker Face continued, “I think Bermuda-kun is slightly misunderstanding things. First of all, he thinks that I’ll take you to the dimension where I actually exist, where you would be able to kill me. However, the me you see here is the real one. I’m just hiding my presence with the Segno Ring.” After drawing attention to his hand he reached up and removed his disguise. He was a perfectly normal-looking human male with white hair, glasses, and wearing a green kimono. The disguise went back on a second later.

“This is only one of my various forms. For the Tri-ni-set. Your plan of defeating me is wrong from the start.” He let loose with a burst of flames that washed past everyone. “About ten times your flame. To me it’s as easy as breathing. Now—”

“Yeah, yeah, get on with it,” came a new voice.

Harry oriented on it to see two men standing nearby, looking bored. They had been customers of his once upon a time.

Checker Face ignored them for some reason. “We have different standards. Scientifically, as creatures.”

“Are you saying that you’re an alien or something?” Verde asked.

“On the contrary, I’m a true Earthling. The only ones of my species currently alive are me . . . and Yuni.”

“Eh?”

“Same species?” Reborn said. “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t plan to speak about this, but I may as well do it for once. If I change my mind I can just erase your mind or you directly.”

“What!?” rose up from those present.

But Harry heard something else. He heard a yawn coming from those two men.

“I don’t know what you’ve seen or heard so far, but what I’m about to tell you is the only truth. My species has been living on this planet since way before your species was even born. Protecting this miraculous planet, the Earth, was the mission of my people. The Tri-ni-set is a device that keeps the balance of the Earth’s life force and cultivates life so that it evolves correctly.

“The original Tri-ni-set looked different from now. In the beginning they weren’t twenty-one pieces like the current pacifiers, the Vongola rings, and the Mare rings. They were seven stone pieces. This is because in the faraway past, when there were still over ten people of my species, we were able to light flames inside the seven stones with our power and activate them.”

“Kami-sama, does this guy beat Binns or what?”

“But when my comrades died one after the other and only five of us, me included, were left, we became unable to make the stones work with just our power. That’s when we decided to borrow the power of the new Earthlings—that is, you. The pacifiers were born by partitioning the seven stones. Since the flames must be kept on continuously, the pacifiers can’t be removed, and the Arcobaleno were born as sacrifices to protect the pacifiers. It was a cruel system, but we had to do it to protect Earth’s lifesystem.”

“Or, you know, they could have reproduced more often. Same damn mistake as the pure-bloods.”

Harry turned to look at them again in confusion. The Japanese one winked at him.

“But, our comrades kept on dying, and in the end only I and Yuni’s ancestor were left. The two of us alone were unable to control all the remaining stones. Once again, trying to borrow power, we further divided the stones and created the Vongola and Mare rings, following the proposal of Yuni’s ancestor. Contrary to the pacifiers, the rings can be removed, and since there are more of them, they’re less of a burden for the wearer.

“The Vongola rings were given to the young family of vigilantes chosen by her, and the Mare rings were controlled by her family. After that I became the one who controlled all regarding the Tri-ni-set. I only appear when it’s time for the pacifiers’ maintenance. In other words, at the time of the Arcobaleno’s generational challenge. Well, it was refreshing to talk about it, but how about you give me back the current pacifiers?”

“Wait!” Tsuna shouted. “There must be another way!”

“If there was one I’d already be using it,” Checker Face replied. “This method is the last one that’s left. By the way, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun, you’re worrying about the current Arcobaleno, but you’re one of those on the list of new ones.”

“Don’t worry, Harry,” that man said again. “You’re not on it because of your flame type, but it won’t come to that.”

Harry finally got curious enough and frustrated enough to walk over there and cock a brow at the fellow.

“Even if you were, there’s no way I’d let an alternate version of myself end up as a chibi.”

“What the fuck?” he said as Tsuna said, “I’m already prepared.”

“Sorry for the wait, brat,” said yet another new voice. An old man appeared, eyes covered with a blindfold, and carrying a curious device. “Checker Face. Why don’t you try this before creating the new Arcobaleno?”

“Talbot-jiisan!” Tsuna said in relief.

“Really, Harry, don’t worry. I may even explain before we leave again. Or leave a note. Something. Or maybe not. I may have to steal some of your recipes, though.”

Harry glared as Checker Face asked, “What’s that?”

“A container that can take the place of the pacifiers. If you use this you will never need the pacifiers again.”

Checker Face actually looked intrigued. “And why?” he drawled.

“The seven types of Flames of the Sky have a special characteristic,” Talbot explained. “If they accelerate and surpass a certain speed their energy is amplified. By putting the eighth type of flame, the ‘Flame of the Night’, inside the container in the shape of a loop, and making the seven types accelerate by going through a succession of warp holes, you won’t need to replenish the flames again for almost an eternity.”

“I see,” Verde said.

“There are some issues. First of all, the flame used as the initial spark must be huge. Secondly, someone must keep on lighting the Night Flame.”

“It’s interesting,” Checker Face said, “but if the eighth flame is needed. . . .”

“These people really need to get to the point more quickly,” Harry muttered.

“Indeed, it’s pretty unthinkable that after living for the sole purpose of defeating Checker Face and creating the eighth type of flame to use it for his vengeance that Bermuda will agree to use it to protect the Tri-ni-set,” Verde opined.

Reborn turned to Bermuda, who had yet to bother getting up, and said, “What do you think?”

“Of course. I want to do it!”

“What?” Checker Face seemed surprised more than anyone by that answer.

“This way we will be the ones controlling the fate of the pacifiers. We can steal the leadership from the odious Checker Face.”

“Those aren’t nice words, Bermuda. In this case, it’s good manners to refuse.”

“No!” Yuni shouted. “We should ask him! By stealing the rights over the Tri-ni-set from you they will have accomplished their revenge. This is because for you, it would be the greatest humiliation. And after their desire for revenge has worn off, they want to offer their own future so that no other sacrifices like the Arcobaleno are born. You should be extremely happy about it,” she insisted. “Also because _your_ life will not last forever, Checker Face.”

He gazed at her through the slits in the mask he was hiding behind. “You can see it, descendant of Sepira. The Tri-ni-set still thriving in the future.”

“Yes!”

“Fine.” He removed his disguise again and said, “Then do it, Talbot. And thank you, Bermuda. I’ve lived so far, keeping my belief and wearing this embarrassing mask, because my wholehearted desire to protect the life on this planet made me decide that small sacrifices were needed to avoid greater ones. But I’ve always thought that if there was a better way to maintain the Tri-ni-set, then I’d have used it right away and entrusted it to the next generation.”

“To make the pacifiers successful even when not attached to a human being, the size of the first flame is vital,” Talbot said. “All of you must do your best to pour the flame inside the device!”

Harry moved back over to join the circle and help. At Talbot’s signal they began and a glorious ring of flames rose up around them.

“If this works,” Skull said, “our curse can be broken, right?”

“I’ll promise it,” Checker Face replied.

And then it was done, but the Arcobaleno were still in five year old forms. The only one who morphed back to an adult state was Lal Mirch.

“Why didn’t all the others go back to normal?” Tsuna asked as Checker Face disappeared.

“Lal was only cursed partially,” Verde said dismally, “while we were cursed completely. Maybe when he removed the same amount of curse it had different effects on our bodies. Lal’s curse was less powerful, so in her case it was removed completely and she went back to normal. But in our case it might be that only the block on aging was lifted. In other words, like normal human children, we might be growing up from now on.”

Reborn sighed and scrambled up onto Harry’s shoulder. “It’s something, right?”

Harry laughed because he didn’t know what else to do. “Maybe we can fix it.”

“Har~ry!”

He turned around again and walked over to the two men. “What!?”

“Expect a surprise in the morning, okay? A very special gift. Because we like you.”

Before he could respond the two men faded out, leaving him speechless.

“Hari? Who were you talking to?” Reborn asked carefully.

He sighed and shook his head. “No one, apparently. You want some pizza? I could go for some pizza.”

Reborn looked back at everyone else and nodded. “Yeah. Pizza sounds good. But there’s a question I should ask first.”

“Oh?”

Reborn hummed thoughtfully. “Wander over to Tsuna, please.”

Once he had Reborn asked, “So, have you given any more thought to becoming Vongola Decimo? I mean, you are wearing the ring, which pretty much says you are.”

Tsuna looked like someone just told him all his hair had fallen out. “I—I don’t know.”

Reborn clucked his tongue. “I see. Well, if you can’t make up your mind and decide to take on the role—I was thinking, since I’m not cursed any longer, I’d like to start a new life. See you.”

“What!?”

“I’m not so good-natured, you know. If you have no intention of becoming the tenth, then I have no more business with you.” He stroked the back of Harry’s neck as a signal.

Harry hastened away from a sputtering Tsuna to a secluded spot and apparated, landing in his bedroom. “Do you really mean that?”

“Sort of, but it’s more of a way to let him know that choice is still looming over his head. I’ll give it a week. You don’t mind if I hide out here, right?”

“Of course not. Now let’s go let everyone know it’s over.”

The next morning Harry woke up wrapped in an embrace. This puzzled him greatly. Then his neck was kissed and nibbled on, his ear bitten—

He shot up and looked at who was in bed with him. “What the fuck?”

“Interesting. I seem to be an adult again.”

“Eh?”

“Even my hat is adult sized!” He laughed delightedly.

“Reborn?”

“Mm. The things I will do to you. . . .”

Harry’s eyes went wide and he could feel the heat stealing over his face.

“I certainly hope you intend to ward this room in the near future so that noise can’t escape,” Reborn said, leering at him.

“. . .Wow. You’re really handsome,” he said inanely.

“I told you my real form was super cool,” Reborn said smugly. “Now feed me. Breakfast, I mean.”

Luna laughed her ass off when she saw Reborn in adult form and the look on Harry’s face.

“Ano, who is this, Otosan?” Lambo asked curiously from his position latched onto Harry’s leg.

“Reborn.”

Lambo gasped and scrambled up onto Harry’s shoulder so he could peer more closely at Reborn. “Oooo, Otosan’s gonna get some!”

He closed his eyes against the urge to strangle his sister. “Tsuki, what have you been teaching him!”

**— Fin —**


End file.
